Hey Mama Monday: Young Kids Are Messy, But How You Will Miss It

Hey Mama,

A decade from now, those hyper little monkeys of yours will be big. Maybe even all grown up. Your life will be so VERY different than it is right now. You won’t recognize it. Maybe less chaotic. Maybe fewer cookie crumbs strewn all about the floor. Maybe less spit-up and tear-soaked (or snotty) shoulders. Can you even imagine? Your clothes will actually stay dry for 24 hours straight.

You’ll miss it, Mama. All this activity one day will fade into… simply memories. A mental picture album with echoing remembrances of loudness, laughter, clattering dishes, running feet, kid-noises. You might even miss the tattles and squabbles a bit. Maybe not. Either way, your days finally will be quiet, and may feel a little empty.

Today though, your (loud) life is moving, always moving. Sometimes too slowly, you think, as you look at the clock. When will he be home from work to help me? Three more hours?! I need some peace. It’s too loud, here!

It’s wildly madhouse-crazy now, Mama, and a break would be nice. But just know, a decade from now you’re likely going to yearn for what you have now. Look at those faces good and hard. They’re little, pudgy, silly, carefree. They scrunch up, still, when they’re laughing. Those eyes are moonbeams. Those cheeks, kissable. A decade or two from now, your life may be calmer.

More civilized. More dignified. Quieter.

Maybe too quiet. The kissy-cheeks, far away. The little high-pitched voice, deep and different. The gazing eyes which always peered up at you before…elsewhere now.

Enjoy these kiddos today, Mama. God has a beautiful plan! Rejoice in what is now. Look at them longer because these little people are your “photo album” in your mind’s eye when things get slow and quiet, even lonely, many years from now.

They are your joy. They are your story. They are your gift from the Lord.

Have a sweet, peaceful day today, in the midst of the busy storm. Even with all that heaping laundry and piles of dishes. Despite the melt-downs.

Enjoy the now; be thankful to your great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He will take care of the rest. He always has, hasn’t He, Mama. As for this exact moment and forever after, His hand is on your head. -gena