You’re (FOREVER) Too Young For That...
I think most every person in the world shares two traits:
1. When we’re kids, we’re anxious to grow up.
2. Once we grow up, we feel nostalgic for youth.
As parents of young children, we’re sort of uniquely situated in between these two phases. We certainly feel incredibly old every time we hear ourselves speaking like our parents did to us, but at the same time we see how much more we have to get through before we get to slow down, which helps us feel young, in a sadistic sort of way.
But every once in a while, one of your kids does something that makes you feel all things at once.
The other night, my two-year-old daughter Sally and I spent the evening just the two of us while her brother and mother (or my son and wife) went to a retreat. She and I did all her favorite things: ate chicken fingers, walked the dog, and took a bath. Banner night, no?
After the bath, she ripped off her towel, and started playing alone in her room. Since we had some time before bed (and since bitter experience has taught me how important it is to encourage kids playing by themselves), I let her play.
After a few minutes, she started giggling maniacally. I couldn’t see her from my perch at the top of the stairs (no head injuries on MY watch!), so I called out to her, and initiated the following exchange:
ME: Sally...what’s so funny?
SALLY (From her room): I DID IT!!
(Sally runs out to me, completely naked, except for an lacy and frilly hair ribbon she has pulled up around her waist)
ME (Confused, but going with it): Yayyyy!
ME (Horrified): NO!!!!!!!!!
Since the day she was born, I’ve been ready for her to opt for underwear instead of diapers. But I don’t think I’ll EVER be ready for her to opt designs like that.
Somehow, I feel a thousand years old, and woefully unprepared for life, at the exact same time.
