Where did the time go?

I can still remember well the day Lee was born. He was welcomed into our home by 3 other siblings. Lee was everyone's baby. Lauren who was only two years old when he was born called him "BABY WEE".We fought over who was going to feed him and change him. He was a colicky ( not sure if that is spelled right? ) baby for the first 3 months, but after that he was one of our happiest babies. From the time he could sit up, he could throw a ball. He loved any kind of ball, that was his passion as he grew. He has always been quite the athlete.

Today Lee turned 17 years old. Where in the world did that time go? I looked at him today and thought what a great, handsome and kind young man he has become. He is still loved by every one in the family. We celebrated his birthday tonight with Amy, John and the girls. Felt weird not to have the rest of our family with us.

How grateful I am to have one more teenager left at home. It is nice to be able to have an adult conversation  with him, do activities with him and go places with him. I can still remember when all four of the kids were young, I worried that I would never have the time and energy I needed to teach and be with each one. I did ok, but still I have memories of days that I felt someone went to bed feeling neglected. I wonder if I invested enough in each one to let them know how much we love and appreciate them? Did they know that our life would never be the same without them? Parenthood, it is tougher than it looks.

For 28 years I have been a stay home mom. Some of you probably don't even know what that is, we are not the majority out there. I am grateful, (although there were many sacrifices to be made because of it) ...that I got to be home 24/7 with my kids. I realize that I was blessed to have the opportunity to do that, many do not have that luxury. I have enjoyed being Amy, Brad, Lauren and Lee's mom. Even though I have fallen short many times on doing the right thing as a mother, I can at least said I tried and that they were the most important thing in my life...right after their dad. :)

So I need to remember  when I go to bed tonight to focus on the wonderful 17 years we had with Lee and not dwell on the fact that in a year or two, he will be leaving home too. No, I can't go there right now. Good night dear friends.

"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body."  ~ Elizabeth Stone

"I thought my mom's whole purpose was to be my mom. That's how she made me feel."                                         ~ Natasha Gregson Wagner