I Think I Get it Now

Have you ever heard an "older" woman say to a "younger" woman who is in the middle of a struggle with her children, "Oh, dearie! Enjoy them now. There will come a time when you'll miss these days!"?
Perhaps someone has spoken those words to you!

Honestly, until recently I have always thought those women-who-have-gone-before-me couldn't remember what "these days" were really like. Figured in an attempt to maintain their sanity they had simply blocked the hard times from their memory.
Selective memory, you know. A survival mechanism.

But a few recent conversations with fellow moms-of-older-kids has shed some light on that statement for me. I think I get it now.
When my kids were toddlers I could buy them and dress them in whatever clothes I wanted. They didn't care about current trends, name brands, or particular styles. I told them they looked adorable, and they believed me!
But NOW? I dare not go shopping without them for fear I will get the wrong style. And when I do take them out to get things, I rely on the faithful prayers of my husband to get us through.
Picky, picky, picky!
I mean, seriously! How can this color of jeans really feel better than that color? Why does it matter if the cuff on the sleeve goes this way or that? What difference does it make whether the jacket zips or buttons???
I walk through the store, trying to be patient. Really trying! But I find myself at a loss to understand how a human being can be so picky about their clothing. It's in those moments when I remember "these days" and - forgetting the tantrums, the missed-potty accidents, the drawn-out bedtimes, the arguments over toys, the fits about snacks, and the agony of clean-up time (Am I missing anything?) - I remember how in "these days" my kids were so easy to clothe, and I realize how much I miss them.

*****You caught the sarcasm, didn't you? *wink*