Things I'll Miss When the Kids Grow Up

Never a dull moment with these three.

The other night I stepped on a Lego and my life flashed before my eyes. The pain from that little piece of toy was so horrific, I wanted to chuck every Lego in the trash. 

Life with kids is messy.

And loud.

And chaotic...

and downright exhausting.

But in a few short years, it won't be. Soon my three will be trading time with mommy for time with friends and trips to the mall. Toys will soon become cell phones and MacBooks. I know this because just yesterday, it seemed like I had little ones in walkers and Boppy pillows. But I blinked and they grew.

When they grow up, I'm going to miss drawings that feature their names scrawled in big messy print.

I'm going to miss little fingerprints on the windows of my freshly washed car. 

And artwork made with love brought home from school.

Toys rolling around on the floorboard of my car.  

Cartoons blaring early on Saturday morning.  

The cute way they mispronounce words and mix up meanings. 

Christmas morning joy that only comes from small kids.  

Cutting up food into little bite size pieces.

Making one last round at bedtime to make sure they haven't kicked their blankets off.

Feeling feverish foreheads with the back of my head and soothing them with kisses and cold compresses.

Requests for fruit snacks and cookies and juice and whatever catches their eye during a trip to the grocery store.

I used to get slightly jealous of my friends without kids. Their houses always pristine. Car windows clear of fingerprints. They never had toys in their purse or half-bitten lipstick in their make up bags. Then I came home to my little circus of kids and realized that life is messy but it's also infinitely more joyous and full of love because they are in it.