You'll Miss These Times

I was cleaning the playhouse the other day. I mean I really cleaned it. I took everything out if it except the TV and stand, and vacuumed, mopped, and washed everything. While doing so, I came across two things that took me back. The first was this tape, as in a VCR tape. It is a Power Rangers tape, and it took me back to when my daughter Sara was much younger than now. She watched the Power Rangers all the time, and apparently they were pretty cool.

The other thing I found, as I was sweeping out the cushions in the couch, was this little slip of paper. Emma and the neighbor boy Christopher, or Toph, always seemed to be thinking up some kind of club, restaurant, or some other money making or just plain fun scheme. Back in the day.

Those two things took me back, way back. And it brought to mind an experience I had once when they were really little. I was at Kroger’s buying groceries, and I had both kids with me. I’m guessing they were probably about 1 and 4. It was one of those trips that make you want to consume mass quantities of any alcoholic beverage you can find! All you parents know exactly what I’m talking about. We were going through the checkout, and they were arguing, crying, screaming... put whatever loud verb you want in there, you get the picture. Just as their noise was about to really put me into some kind of fit, an older woman came up to me, and gently tapped me on the arm. And quietly and sweetly, she said to me “Enjoy these times young man, you’re going to miss them.”

OK, well that did NOT make things any better. Yeah right, I’m going to miss this time? I just wanted to get out of there, strap them in their car seats, drive home real fast and throw them both into bed and hope they would take long naps. And consume mass quantities of beer. Enjoy these times? Really?

But you know, even as she was saying it, although I couldn’t feel what she was saying, I somehow knew intellectually that she was right. That yes, I would miss those times. In some strange way that only a parent can understand.

So now as I approach my kids 21^st and 24^th birthdays, I am incredibly proud of the beautiful, intelligent, and caring young women they’ve grown up to be. And while I’m not crazy about them being so far from home, I understand that that is part of living and growing up. And I would never want to go back to that time more than 20 years ago.

Yet, somehow the woman was right. I do miss those times. Those times when Sara would say “watch me Dad” and do a cartwheel for the 100^th time in a row, looking exactly like every other one. Or when Emma would be crying uncontrollably over some perceived tragedy, but the offer of ice cream could fix it all! Yeah, I miss those times.

You know, I have no idea who that woman was, but I’m pretty sure that “older” woman was younger then than I am now. And now I know, and feel, exactly what she meant.

Yeah, I miss those times. And all you parents understand.