Mommy Meltdown

I had a moment in Walgreens today...  I was stopping in to pick up a few prescriptions and I walked by the baby isle - like I have a gazillion other times before! But today was different. Today, when I walked by that isle and glanced in, I paused and quickly realized, there is nothing in that isle that I need to stop for. My baby girl doesn't need a new fun colorful bink, or formula, or a new bottle, or rattle. And for the life of me, I stood there like a fool and cried. I couldn't help myself! She is only 15 months and has a life time of growing ahead (not to mention some crazy toddler days to come), but her baby days are gone.

She is growing so much and learning something new every day and it's magical to watch and experience. But it made me realize how quickly she is growing and becoming a tiny, independent, person. The baby in her is fading.

Last night I asked her if she wanted to go brush her teeth and go to bed. So she looked up at me from her toys in the living room and made a mad dash to the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. I lifted her over the gate and after methodically climbing the stairs, she stood up and went straight to the bathroom and reached up for her toothbrush. It's moments like this that make me so unbelievably proud. But in the back of my mind are those glimmering memories when she would let me hold her for hours at a time. Now she only wants to be held for a few minutes or to get a better look at something...then she's off to the races.

I know I'm not the only mother in the world to experience this phenomenon. I was told a hundred times by countless parents how fast the time goes. And MAN were they right! Yet, you never really get it until you experience it. It's incredible and all you can do moving forward is warn other first time parents of the exact same phenomenon and that they too will look at their child one day and think, "what the hell just happened?!".

Time is a miraculous thing. And until Doc and Marty show up at my door with the delorean, all I can do it march forward. March forward, and cherish every single moment I have with this sweet angel that chose to grace me as her mother. She is my world and I look forward to every milestone, every accomplishment, and every lesson she has yet to learn. It's been an incredible journey so far and there's only greatness to come......and maybe a few more Walgreens meltdowns.