Seasons

Yesterday, Jacob lost his first tooth.  Late that evening, after performing my very first duty as the Tooth Fairy, I remarked to Frank that I couldn't believe we had a child old enough to start losing teeth.

The next morning, he smiled at me with that gap-toothed smile that every kid smiles in the primary grades.  "Can I play basketball in the basement before I leave for school?"  he asked. And off he went, pausing briefly to inhale a poptart and some bacon  (we keep it healthy around here) before the bus came for him.

Later that morning, Carter and I met some friends from my mom's group in the Discovery Room at our local library.  The Discovery Room is an awesome space where kids can play with trains, puppets, Legos, etc.  The kids and I have been going to the Discovery Room for years, and it's especially nice to have available in the winter.

As the others arrived, I watched them lug around strollers and infant seats and diaper bags.  I watched them dole out snacks, wipe little noses, and play trains with one hand while bouncing a baby with the other.

Life has changed in such incremental little bits that it's hard to believe that isn't my season any more. Not that I'm an experienced mom or anything, but the whole new/young mom gig has a very limited shelf life, and I am certainly at the end of that.  As everyone said it would, this time has flown by.

Instead of worrying about cutting teeth, my kids are losing them.  Instead of washing t-shirts with cute little animals on them, I wash Nike socks.  Instead of wanting to be read to, they want to read to me- even Carter who has memorized most of our books!

(Okay, so maybe Carter's PJs have a cute little animal on them!)

Although I wouldn't want to go backwards in time, days like this are a reminder to savor every little bit of preschooler and little kid-ness that I can.