It struck me how few years it will be before Elijah is not going to want to hang out with his mom anymore---it's going to happen faster than I could imagine!
For the last few days, perhaps because he's been getting over a cold, or because our routine is slowly becoming normal again after the holidays, Elijah has been much more clingy and in need of Mama. Even when he's playing by himself, he just wants to know that I am there. Completely out of the blue today, he came over and smiled, gave me a big hug, and kissed me on both cheeks.
He is 17 months old, as of yesterday.
Or, he will be playing, and every now and then, will run in my direction, into my arms. I dread the day when that is no longer a favorite game of his! I'm sure he will never stop needing my presence or my hugs, but I am so thoroughly enjoying this current stage. (Of course, it occasionally is a little too much, like when I can't eat breakfast while Daddy watches him, because he knows I'm still there and starts calling out, "Mama? Mama?? MAMA!!")
So my friend's growing-up-too-fast kids were a reminder that I need to continue enjoying every moment. To be fully present whenever I possibly can. To put off the things that aren't urgent or important and BE with Elijah (put off housework: CHECK!). And my goal for this year is to figure out that balance a little better: how to put things off to spend time doing the important stuff, and still figure out how to get to the growing to-do piles in a way that doesn't stress me out.
Today we watched a friend get married, and as her dad gave a toast at the reception, it was as if Elijah's next twenty years flashed before me. This, God willing, will be me someday, standing by my child as he enters another new phase of life. It will be me, sending him off to start his own family.
Ok, rewind...back to today. Enjoy today, enjoy today, enjoy today!
