Where does time go??

Ugh. This summer just flew by. We are scratching our heads wondering how this summer went by even faster than it did last year. I've always heard that once you have children, your life seems to slip by quicker. I have really begun to understand that, now that "B" is here. It just seems like you blink and they're off to first grade...which is my segway into the next paragraph.

Owen starts first grade next week. Dad is excited, but nervous. I guess it's a nervous/excitement he has for Owen? Mom is just a plain wreck. There, I laid it out on the table. I don't care if it makes me seem weak or needy, the plain truth is that my BABY is going to first grade. Have I cried? Heck yeah, I did last night as I rocked little B to sleep. I couldn't help but think about how it seems that I was doing the very same thing with Owen not so long ago. It is difficult to believe that six years have gone by so quick. I know that I have told many, many of my friends pregnant with their first to cherish each moment. Any time that you feel frustrated and it makes you think "Oh, I can't wait until he/she can.....(walk, talk, entertain themselves)", stop yourself and just cherish the moment. Even if at that moment you want to knock yourself out to spare the agony of whatever is going on. My own Mother gave me that advice, along with pretty much every other veteran Mom that I have encountered in my life. You have your first child and you think, "I have 5 years to watch him/her grow and to be a part of every moment that I can." At the time you truly do not understand just how fast it goes. But I guess that is what happens and then we, as veteran Moms, pass along the advice to the new Moms..and then watch them do the same things we did.

Of course I am proud that he is moving forward. I am proud to know that he'll succeed and that he'll make lots of new friends but....I know that I will miss him. I will miss the hugs after lunch, the morning snuggles in the winter, and being able to just take off and do things together any time of the day. I am sure that this will be the scenario after his first full week of school: Avery, B, and I sitting around after he departs for school again, staring blankly at each other. Avery not having him to play dress up with, B not having the noise associated with said "dress up" activities, and Mom knowing that Avery's departure to becoming a 'big kid' is just around the corner....