A friend of mine will be speaking to a local MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) in upcoming weeks. I am hoping to go support her, though I have never been to a MOPS meeting before. It just occurred to me, that I have been in the Mother of a Preschooler stage of life for 14 years. I have always had a little one at home. Next year, barring any unforeseen pregnancies or adoptions, will be my very first year as a Mom to all school aged children. Granted, two of those school age children will be in High School, which is kind of funny in itself. Two kids in elementary, two in high school. I have mentioned before that given this long stretch, and the learning that occurred along the way, I am a different mother to my 4 year old, than I was to my 14 year old (at age 4). I am less fussy. Unfortunately for him, I care less about having him dressed super cute all of the time. I realise that jeans get holey knees, and t-shirts get stains, big whoop. I have to focus on the big stuff just to keep my head above water around here, no time to sweat minutia. If he eats yogurt three meals a day because everything else is "eeewwey", I still introduce other foods, but he won't be sitting at the dinner table for two hours facing down a plate of cooked carrots (like my oldest boys did). Call it unfair, and I know when they are adults they will argue about it at the Thanksgiving table. "Nick had it so easy....." To that I say, Boo Hoo my loves. I love you all more than I can say, but I have to choose my battles. One has to account for the energy required to handle teen-aged angst, while handling the crazy toddler years, simultaneously. Life is good, and I feel incredibly blessed, and a little tired. :)
I am helping to prepare a baby shower for a young woman at our church. She is young, just 22. Thinking about her, and what the future may hold for her and her little family, got me to thinking about life at 22. Much has changed for me since I was 22. That was really a difficult time. I didn't realize at the time that it was difficult. I had graduated from college, was having a post college, pre-real life, super good time. I was bar tending, partying, picking up and traveling to far away places to party some more. I didn't really have much in the way of financial responsibility yet, and my parents were living in Egypt-- leaving me in charge of the house and my younger sister. It was an "out all night, sleep all day", kind of life. To be honest, I was setting a pretty poor example for my sister, who at the time was working full-time at a nursing home, and was far more responsible than I was. Looking back at that time, and even later, till about age 25, it make...
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