Bacon TidBits

Lately I've been thinking a lot about writing... I love putting my thoughts down on paper (or laptop) and have been realizing how much $$$ could be involved in getting an article or two published! (Much more money for the time spent than my knitting ventures!) I've submitted two articles for publication this fall. It has felt so good to actually follow through with something I've dreamt about. So here is my latest article, it's kinda scary putting yourself out there, but I figure you all are my friends... who better to try things out on??

If the magazines don't like them, maybe someone around here will. :)

Now and Later

“Mom, I never want to live away from you and Dad.”
“Drew, you can live with us as long as you want, but you may change your mind later.”

This is a typical conversation with my eight year-old. The topic comes up every few months, and often brings tears to my son’s eyes as he imagines his life outside of the here and now. It is hard for him to see that he will grow in a way that leads him toward independence. He will actually want to have a life of his own outside of us! I understand his anxiousness. Sometimes things that are imminent and unfamiliar seem terrifying. Like getting your wisdom teeth removed, giving birth for the first time, sending a child off to college, or middle school for that matter!

Those thoughts of my son mirror the thoughts I have about my imminent future. What will my children be like as teenagers? Will they be the same, just taller? Will they still love the closeness of our family? Will they make good choices? Will they have good health? Will we have good health? No matter how many of these thoughts swirl around in my head, I know that the answers will be obvious later. Later. That little word is used so rampantly by us mothers, isn’t it? That little word is so hard to hear sometimes. Later you will get a full night’s sleep for an entire week. Later those extra 20 pounds from your last pregnancy will be lost and not found again. Later you will be able to read all of those books you’ve been dying to devour.

Later is later, but what is now? Now is yours to breathe in and enjoy. This past year since our youngest was born has been a year of savoring. We savor each hug, chubby wrist, giggle, and even her adorable tears. We now know that those newborn days fly by in a flurry of sleeplessness and emotions, and the days we are in now will be a sweet memory all too soon. I’ve been taking mental snapshots of my sweet baby girl all year. Like the time on last Mother’s Day when she fell asleep unexpectantly in my arms. Like the time she was poised on her hands and knees looking so small not quite knowing how to crawl. And like the time she sat in a crate of mini pumpkins her first time visiting a pumpkin patch in the fall. Now is a time to be savored. The simple, yet busy life as a mother of preschoolers is sometimes overlooked and viewed as mundane and chaotic. Yet, if you stop to look closer you can see that the little hand needing help down the stairs will not need your help forever. Those little noses that seem to run like Niagara Falls will soon be wiped by bigger hands that aren’t yours. Know that the child that screams and clings when placed in the care of another will one day delight in his freedom. Your home that seems to bustle endlessly with activity, noise, messes, and laughter will eventually fall silent. Then we will stop and wonder why we couldn’t go back and relive those simpler times. Now is awaiting your attention. Later will come soon enough.