Remember,” my mother reassured me this week after yet another tale of our toddler’s whiny behavior. “He won’t be 4 forever.”
But later, that thought squeezed my heart. He won’t be 4 forever; one day the tantrums will be gone, but so too will the stories that put him to sleep, the random “I love you’s” and the giggles at the dinner table.
Luckily, I get to live those moments for a while longer, not just with one but with two. Our house and our hearts are more crowded these days, my husband and I testing our still young parenting skills on a new baby boy. We see each other in passing, handing off baby for little boy before we collapse each night. But it’s worth it.
It’s amazing to watch a personality awaken in such a tiny person.
The other day I was at the grocery store, a screaming baby and crying boy in the cart testing my patience. A more mature mother laid her hand on my arm as I passed by. “Just smile, Mom,” she said.
I will. It won’t last forever.