flop flips,flu,fun, and phases of childhood

We have been going through a lot of this stuff this week!! Can you guess why? The flu has made it's appearance at our house, hitting the 2 boys. Hopefully the rest of us will escape it's joys.

It has been several years since I needed to do this kind of Mommying...and actually it has been a trip down memory lane. Where do the years go? I remember being so exhausted from endless nights of rocking and vaporizers and continuous linen changes; the heavy, warm,damp, limpness of a restlessly sleeping child lying on my shoulder, finally quiet; having to write down which child got dosed with what remedy at whatever hour so no one got over dosed. I remember being in a quandary as to how sick the child could get before a doctor visit was needed, and once the visit happened wondering if the doc was right. Now, it's the same anxiety, the same dosing regimen, but they won't let me rock or hold them. And thankfully they make it to the bathroom before the gastric explosion occurs, so the laundry isn't quite as bad.

I have a lot of regrets about wishing those years would come to an end, that raising children would get easier. It doesn't get easier, just different. I wish I had learned to live in the moment, and just take in every microsecond, sound, picture,smell. There are pictures, but the pictures don't remind me of those things. And now, in a different season, the years are still rushing by, leaving memories in their wake. I want to capture each moment, each nuance, each sound and thought and feeling.

This morning I woke to snow-big, huge, fluffy flakes. Now, the sky is blue and clear. And soon, the cold weather will change to warm, the grass will be green, flowers will be blooming, the pond down the road will once again be full of ebullient children and teens basking in the water and sunshine, and best of all........it will be FLIP FLOP AND ICY DIET CHERRY COKE SEASON!!! woooooohoooooo!!!!!