Mama Monday #40

Theme: Time

What to say - time just seems to slip away much to fast. As a child, I remember each new school year, each birthday, each Christmas Day - the passing of the excitement and the LOOOONNNNNGGGG wait for it all to come around again. Oh, to have that back again!

Now - I cannot fathom just how quickly the months pass by. Didn't it just turn into November? How can it almost be December? Didn't we just dress up for Halloween, like, two days ago or something? You mean now I've got to figure out which pretty little Holiday dress to put Sweetie in? You've got to be kidding me, right?

It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing Sweetie home from the hospital on Christmas Eve eve. How we added a second middle name to her full name to mark the time of year she was born. I remember our friends stopping by after catching a movie in our neck of the woods. All they expected was to drop in and say a quick hi to Hubby and I. What a surprise to find our Sweetie was here too! And then there was the phone call from another friend, warning me not to use the herb soaps he and his wife had given us as an early Christmas gift for fear that it would start early labor. Little did they know our bundle of love was already home.

We were to host our family's Christmas Eve dinner that year - and we still did! It's just that family came over ahead of time to help us prep the house. And the gathering was much more low key than it would have otherwise been. All that mattered that Christmas was that we had a brand new baby in our lives and in our hearts - to cuddle, coo over, care for and comfort. What a great Christmas present!

And here she is - about to turn 4-years old. And, yet, we'll all be celebrating our 5th Christmas with her. This seems to be the first Christmas that Sweetie truly knows what's going on - what it's all about (well - in Kid World, anyway - it's all about the presents!). She knows that her birthday comes first and that just a few days later, it's Christmas! I remember 2 years ago when we easily put her to bed on Christmas Eve. I noted how that would probably be the last time a Christmas Eve bedtime would go so smoothly. But then last year was fine too. We just told her she had to go to sleep or Santa couldn't come.

(It's great how, as time goes by, we as parents pick up more and more tips and tricks for getting things done. We also acquire more confidence in our parenting skills over time. Things that seemed so daunting a year ago now seem so old hat and so easily resolved.)

I wrote this post about a week ago. I complained how rushed I always feels at this time of year. How busy and stressed I am and how many things I'm always committed to do during the holiday season. But I vowed this year to take it easy, re-evaluate my commitments, and relax and enjoy my time more.

Then yesterday I wrote this post. And we 3 had a great day. Sweetie drew Christmas pictures that we can use to make our own Holiday cards with this year. And we prepped the house for the season. We played Scrabble. Hubby made Chex party mix. I picked up a holiday themed counted cross stitch that I started awhile back and then let go. We had a great, relaxing, enjoyable day.

What a wonderful way to spend our time together as a family. Enjoying each other in the here and now. Trying to hold on just a little longer, a little tighter - not wanting the moment to slip away too soon.