Growing So Fast

They grow up so fast. You're going to miss this. Don't blink. Etc.

When you have babies, you can't go a day without hearing these types of cliches. It's caused me to wonder if maybe there's something to them and also if there's anything I can do about it.

I want to cherish the little moments. Giving Levi piggy back rides, holding John while he sleeps, and being able to scoop either of them up whenever I want. But I don't really think too hard about those things when they happen and there are a lot of less-fun things I don't like about having two kids that are two or younger that I do think about.

Who cherishes sleepless nights, or the terrible twos? How do you revel in the inconvenience or sacrifice of parenting young kids? And what brainwashing took place to make every empty nester tell me (and any other young parent) to relish these moments?

Yet I know they're right. In time l will look back and miss these years of wonder. But that changes nothing now. I guess it's like having kids in that there is no way to really understand it unless you do it. It doesn't matter how many times someone tells you it will change your life, you'll still be surprised when it does. So this is me saying I won't be surprised when I end up missing this time of cranky days and sleepless nights even though I still don't like them now.

I've reflected on the notion of putting time in a bottle before and in theory one could do this by engaging in every precious moment. But that's not reality. In reality, putting time in a bottle is like trying to put a feral cat in a pillow case. While riding a unicycle.

There is a theory that parents with grown kids look back on these times with fondness  because they suffer from Sleep Deprivation Amnesia (SDA). Basically, their sleep deprivation at the time impacted their ability to accurately form memories, so they only recall the good things. Although it may explain the phenomenon, it's a complicated theory that's completely made up so I won't spend additional time on it. Plus, if it's true you won't remember this anyway.

But that's just the nature of the beast (the beast being parenting in this case and not Levi when he's tired and hungry). I guess SDA is one of the gifts of parenting. I can't wait until I start suffering from it.