Let Them Be Little

Have you heard that song by Billy Dean? I heard it again recently and it's one of those that always makes you cry. It says "Let them be little, cause they're only that way for awhile. Give 'em hope, give them praise, give them love every day. Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle, oh but let them be little." If that doesn't make you stop and think, I don't know what will. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of life that you don't take the time to let your kids be little. You don't get on the floor and play or make up stories together or jump on the bed. How many times have I caught myself saying things I never thought I would say? "Stop blowing bubbles in your drink. We don't sit on the counter. Do I look like the garbage can? There's no spitting in the car!" Really- that last one is a frequent one believe it or not. I was talking with someone recently who had a friend who's kids had all gone off to college and she was having the hardest time adjusting to not having her kids at home anymore. I know that time sneaks up on us faster than we expect. I don't want to look back on the time when our kids were little and wish I had spent more time with them or played more or imagined more. I am totally guilty of that at times though. It seems like I need more hours in the day to get everything done, so it's easy to just let the kids play together while I clean or cook or get organized. Things can get so busy that I can expect too much from our little kids, we want them to act like a "big kid", tell them we expect more from them, want them to be more responsible. But they are going to have to do that their whole lives. They have so few years when they don't care what other people think, they don't have to worry about school or work or responsibilities. We should cherish that time for them because they don't know that it's so limited. We should sing out loud and dance in the rain and laugh til it hurts. You would think I would have it all figured out now especially since Brooklyn has leukemia, I should cherish each day and just have fun, but I don't. She was on steroids again a couple weeks ago but it seems like the effects of the drugs lasted longer this time. She has been particularly feisty and gets angry easily if she doesn't get her way. She woke up every night again during her week on steroids and then for the next few nights afterwards. She has slept through the night the last few nights though so that has been great. It seems so logical that we should laugh and dance and play with our kids all the time but when you're in the midst of a day full of whining and crying and fighting, it can be easy to forget that you want to sit and play with your kids while they're young. Our kids are really so good though and we are so blessed to have them. I asked our kids, individually, a couple months ago if they knew we loved them and they each (except Kelsey of course) said yes, we tell them every day. That is what I really want. I know I may not always play as much as I should, but I do always want them to know they are loved. I was folding laundry the other day and Brooklyn started jumping on my bed. I immediately started thinking of the monkeys jumping on the bed song, but before I told her to stop, I saw the look on her face. She was having the best time in the world. Of course I don't want the kids to get hurt by falling off the bed or hurting themselves somehow jumping, but how much fun is it to jump on a bed? Can you remember the feeling of jumping and feeling like you're flying through the air before landing again on the springy mattress & taking flight again? You just don't do that as an adult. We don't take the time, we don't want to mess up the bed, and we don't want to get hurt either. But I didn't make her stop, I wanted her to feel that joy, that elation, that feeling of pure fun. She has been through so much this last year that she should get to bounce on the bed every day. Seeing her joy helped me to remember that I want that for my kids, I want them to enjoy being young, not have to worry about the worries of life or what lies ahead. I am going to do my part to "let them be little" for as long as possible.