I’ve discovered that every time I start to write something, a gazillion things pop in to my head. My brain is still recovering from a week long vacation, so here goes the rambling post :-)Â
Yesterday, we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt at our house. Last year, it was warm and sunny - all the kids were in shorts, t-shirts, and cute dresses. Yesterday, no such luck. It was 35 degrees and snowing! But, being the hardy Coloradans we are, we still ventured outside for the egg hunt. The kids (all 11 of them) had a great time! They, of course, found all the eggs in record time and marched back inside to check out the loot. After ingesting a sufficient amount of sugar and making a few laps around the food table (what’s an egg hunt without an egg-shaped cake, fruit salad, cheese and crackers, and chips and guac!) the kids adjourned downstairs. That in itself was kind of weird because all the toys are upstairs. For the next 1 1/2 hours, the adults enjoyed beverages, peace and quiet, and adult conversation without a single interruption.
Everyone was commenting on how nice it was! There was plenty of laughter and giggling downstairs, but really, all the kids playing together without so much as one whine or argument? For a while, I thought it was great, too. Then I started thinking how sad it was that all of our kids, who have known each other since they were babies, were so grown up that they didn’t “need” us anymore. I guess we should all feel proud that we’re raising kids who are independent and who can work things out on their own without constant supervision. And I should probably stop saying how I wish my kids would stop growing up so fast! Right now, 4 and 6 are the perfect ages for my kids, and I keep saying how I wish they’d stay that way. I’m sure if you ask me a year from now what my favorite age is, I’ll say “right now!” But for now, I’m a little sad that the house was a little too quiet for the afternoon while none of the kids needed the parents. It’s the perfect age, but I just wish they could stay little a bit longer!