You're gong to miss this...

This week has been the book fair at our elementary school.  I volunteered to help set up and then took 3 shifts to help with the fair itself.  I have enjoyed helping with this activity twice a year for the last few years.  This time the organizer, who is one if my friends, said, "I'm so sad you won't be at [this school] after this year."  It took me a moment to realize the reason. Spud Jr. will be in 5th grade next year, which means leaving the elementary school and heading into the Middle School.  That means...I will no longer have an elementary school child.  For those of you who are wondering how this can be possible...let me explain.  In Rexburg, kids go to the small elementary schools for K-4th grades, then all of the kids in the district move to the Middle School for 5th & 6th grades, then the Jr. High for 7th-9th grades and finally the High School form 10th-12th.

Having the youngest of my two children finish his time at the elementary school reminds me that my children are growing up.  FAST!!! I remember the days when I had two little kids running around and feeling the constant exhaustion of trying to keep up with them.  People told me, 'Enjoy these days, they pass by too fast' or 'Someday soon, you are going to miss this.' I didn't believe them.  And I'm not going to say I miss the physical exhaustion or the sleepless nights (although, we still have some of these...just not very frequently), I don't miss that.  

But...I do miss those days of tiny hands holding on to mine.  I miss the days when my kids thought I was the bravest, best and smartest mommy in the world.  I miss the moments of their first discovering so many new things that are just normal parts of life.  I do miss those tender, formative, long days.  

The days now are short and the months and years seem to race by at an astounding rate.  I am trying hard to remember to enjoy these days too because all too soon, they will have flown by too.  And while the challenges now are different and the physical demands aren't as great, the mental challenges are much greater and possibly even more trying.  Some days I feel completely mentally drained as I try to navigate the emotions of a 12 (soon to be 13) year old girl and a 9 (almost 10) year old boy.  Some days I catch myself wishing some phase or another will pass quickly, but then I catch myself and remember....'Enjoy these days, they pass by too fast.  Someday soon, you are going to miss this.'