A couple of weeks ago Portland had a 70 degree weekend in March. It was one of those Saturdays where you tip-toe over every project and chore going on in your winter cabin to seek outdoor seating for taco’s and beers. Jeff and I have kind of mastered at doing this with the girls when the weather allows. The special part about this particular day wasn’t the weather, it was the lovely couple we met who had 3 week old twins themselves. They looked just as happy as they did completely scared, sitting there with their sleeping soldiers. They wanted to know everything, “start from the beginning” she said, as if we were the ones who knew what we were doing. But we have 6 month olds now, we’re professionals for God’s sake, surely we had something to share. So we sat and shared stories of our successes and failures one at a time over well, taco’s and beer. She apologized for not being able to hold a good conversation, she was foggy brained and couldn’t focus herself to talk about anything but baby. It was at that moment that I realized how much time had past, I remember that bubble so well. My father past away three days before the arrival of our girls. The most angelic lives handed to us to care for just days after losing the man that taught me how to love. Everyday since has been the most challenging and life changing days of my entire life, and still continue to be.
To all those new moms out there, when times get tough just remember this poem. It’s such a beautiful reminder of how easy it is to let life slip through our hands. Cherish every moment:
To all those new moms out there, when times get tough just remember this poem. It’s such a beautiful reminder of how easy it is to let life slip through our hands. Cherish every moment:
The Last Time
From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,
you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
When you have freedom and time,
And nothing in particular to worry about.
You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,
And days will run into days that are exactly the same,
Full of feedings and burping,
Nappy changes and crying,
Whining and fighting,
Naps or a lack of naps,
It might seem like a never-ending cycle.
But don’t forget …
There is a last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed
your baby for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.
One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down,
And never pick them up that way again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
Then never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.
One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus”
and do all the actions,
Then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.
The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realize.
So while you are living in these times,
remember there are only so many of them
and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.
-Author Unknown-
I couldn’t love anything more than I do you two, Macie and Marlowe. Happy half birthday.