The Days are Long, But the Years Short

When my first baby was born, I was completely unprepared.

Unprepared for the overwhelming love.

Unprepared for the helplessness of a tiny human being dependent on me for sustenance, life, and nurturing.

Unprepared for the sheer exhaustion, the worry, the sheer magnitude of what I had been given.

I grew up with my first baby.

I loved him with a fierce love, but I was also unsure. Would he figure out how much I loved him? Or would he just remember my bumbling mistakes and my insecurities as a first time mom?

As baby after baby was added to our family, my heart grew with each one.

I didn't even know that my heart could hold so much love.

With my baby, Hannah, I am a different mom than I was with my first.

I still fail daily. I still mess up. I am not perfect.

But my mindset has shifted.

Now, instead of just trying to get through each day in a fog of exhaustion, I pause and I watch her.

Instead of glancing at the clock, wondering if it's bed time yet, (although sometimes I still do that) I snuggle with them on the couch past their bedtime.

She is the youngest of eight, and at 44, I am most likely done having babies.

God granted me my desire of having 10 children. I have had 11 positives, but 8 are on earth and 3 in heaven.

With my baby, I am a seasoned mom.

I have realized that the time is fleeting.

I won't always have chubby arms wrapped around my neck. I won't always have "I love you, Mama!" being said five hundred times a day. My older ones say it, but not as often or exuberantly as the toddlers.

I take time to snuggle with the babies as often and as long as they like.

I won't always have toddler snuggles.

I give long hugs.

I sing songs.

My eldest has married and started a family of his own.

My second boy is about to.

Someday, my last baby will, too.

When that day comes, I think my heart might just break a little.

So in the meantime, I am going to enjoy the years I have left withy kids.

I am going to soak up each hug, each giggle, each "I love you!"

The days are long sometimes, but the years are definitely short.

Young Mamas, make the most of the time you have with your precious kids.