WILD ONE Bundle by ForeverJoy Designs
April '22 MIS template by Scrapping With Liz
fonts- DJB Bailey {dates} & Gabriola {journaling}
Journaling: I can vividly remember the conversation I had with my dad on the phone all these years later. At the time, I was walking around the messy house where Avery and Collin had toys everywhere, there was a pile of dishes in the sink, and a full basket of laundry that needed to be done, and yet Austin just needed to be held so it all had to wait. Dad just chuckled when he heard the tone of my voice when he asked how I was doing and my reply was "okay, I guess." He said to me, "I know it's hard right now, but you're going to miss these days" of changing diapers and reading bedtime stories, watching the same movies or cartoons over and over again, and even washing tiny baby clothes covered in spit-up. He couldn't have been more right. Avery is now 18 and 340 miles away from home at college learning to live on her own and make all of her own decisions. Collin is a 15-year-old young man who towers over his mom and now I find myself asking him for help with getting things out of high cabinets or opening jars. Austin is a funny, stubborn, and independent 12-year-old boy who doesn't need his mom so much anymore and definitely doesn't need me to hug and cuddle him for hours anymore. And of course, dad was right. I miss those days of diapers, pacifiers, and bedtime stories. While you are in it, it seems like the days take forever, but the years are really so short. That conversation dad and I had has always stayed in my mind and even when the kids were sick or just moody and the house was a mess, I have tried to really just stay in the moment and enjoy the little moments as well as the big things. Sometimes, you just need to cuddle on the couch and watch Mickey Mouse playhouse in your pj's for hours with your son or read Sparky the Firefly to your daughter for the 5th time so she can go to bed. I think that's one of the reasons I take a ton of pictures of everything and scrapbook so much. I don't want to forget anything. I want my kids to know that although being a parent isn't easy and certainly doesn't come with a manual, I have always put them first and enjoyed being their mom more than anything else in the world.
