Don't Grow Up

 There are some days when I can’t wait for my kids to be a bit older. The days when they can all read well and do their schoolwork mostly on their own. The days when they will be doing the dishes, and sweeping the floors, and folding the laundry. (Even though, yes, I will have to listen to them complain about it.) Or the days when, maybe, they won’t talk every waking moment…sometimes all at the same time. But often I wish they wouldn’t grow up at all.

 

I think what I will miss the most when they are grown is the vocabulary they now have. Some things they say because it just makes logical sense. Like both Emry and Ethan have always (and still do) call sneezes, “Bless yous”. Which makes perfect sense because every time they sneeze, one of us says, “Bless you!” not “Sneeze!” The other day Ellyson sneezed a couple of times and Ethan calls out, “Mama, Elly had two bless yous!”

 

Or the day when Emry came to be several months ago and informed me she needed shoes “with hips”. I had to pause, ask her to repeat herself, and pause again…before it dawned on me. “Oh! With heels!” I said. She looked confused at my response so, in very Emry fashion, explained it in length to me so I knew what she was talking about: Elsa has shoes with hips…the blue ones…she needs them to go with her Elsa dress…did I remember them from the movie? I got the point. However, we still don’t have Elsa shoes. But she did get Sunday shoes “with hips” for the summer. (I tell you that girl and I have very different styles of clothing!)

 

Then last week I was having some allergies: scratchy throat, the sniffles. (NOT COVID – ALLERGIES!!!!!) I was sucking on a throat lozenge and Emry noticed. She first asked what it was and then wanted one. Sucking on a little honey and lemon never hurt anyone, so I gave her the only other one I had. She promptly went and told Ethan. Ethan came running: “Mama, I need a hiccup drop!” It was so cute. I had to laugh.

 

One day I will miss the way Emry says “musnic” for “music” just as I already miss the way she once talked about herself in third person.

 

I will also miss how Ethan says, “litta-bitta” for “a little bit” just as I miss the way he  said “Chick-a-way!” for Chick-a-la. A phrase he corrected only last week.

Sigh…they grow up far too fast!