My youngest one, my baby Jacob, became a teenager today.
I am now childless and teen-full! For one month I am the mother of THREE teenagers. (Feel free to pray for me!) Then my daughter turns 20, which will be a whole other blog….
So today I’m a tad sad. I’m mourning the loss of childhood antics, toys strewn across every visible surface, giggles of delight, and spontaneous snuggles. They will be replaced by teen pranks, saucepans of dried mac and cheese strewn across kitchen counters, occasional grunts, and not-so-much snuggling!
Maybe I’m being a little melodramatic. I actually have the best teens ever, and I know we have been SO blessed with a relatively smooth sail thus far. But with my daughter flying back to Montreal next month for her third year at Uni, and my two boys now whizzing through high school, I feel the urge to put the brakes on.
STOP! Let me look at you all for a minute. Memorize your faces and your braces, the sparkle in your eyes, the traces of childhood, which now lie hidden below the surface. Let me remind you of our homeschooling days, our vacations, our first lovable, ugly dog… sigh…
Time. It’s bizarre when you actually think about it. When we’re young, it seems to drag and we chomp at the bit, longing to get going with our lives. When we’re in the midst of child rearing, let’s face it, it’s an absolute blur- my family tease me mercilessly because I have no recollection whatsoever of a 3 year stint of “crazy baby time”. When we reach my current stage of life, there’s a sudden need to grasp every moment before it changes drastically. Then one day we are looking back in time, reminiscing on days gone by.
Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1 says:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
One of the many reasons I love living in Kelowna, B.C. is we get to experience four very distinct seasons. I was brought up in the U.K. where there are only two seasons- “cold, rainy season” and “slightly warmer, rainy season”. In Kelowna we have snowy winters, fresh springs, piping hot summers and crisp falls. With every new season I declare it’s my favorite, until the next one comes along. I love the newness, the change, and the joy of discovering what’s to come.
So I’m in a new season. And I’m going to embrace it with all my heart. I’ve loved every moment of being “mommy” and I’ll cherish a truckload of memories (thank goodness we took copious photos during the “crazy baby time”!) Now I’m “mom”. It’s teen time, and I’m ready- bring it on!
What season are you in? Can you embrace it? Some seasons are peppered with pain, others are a roller-coaster ride of heavenly highs and melancholy lows. I try to remember it’s all in the hands of the Lord, and He in the ultimate timekeeper. To put time in perspective, here’s a verse from 2 Peter 3, and with these words I will leave you to ponder your season…
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
