I can't believe my boys turned 14 and 16 this week! I feel like I woke up one morning, and there they were, two teenagers. Their lives are filled with Facebook, emails, loud music even I don't like (and I grew up with heavy metal), wearing all black - which I don't mind so much - texting, and phone calls late into the night.
I miss those learning moments at a Children's Museum, having lunch by the Phoenix Zoo's "Savannah" watching the giraffes walking majestically, the wonder of fireworks on their faces, the thrill they had inventing new dives into the pool, and to go way back...the theme from Thomas the Tank Engine playing in the background at bedtime.
People are right. The time with our kids goes so quickly. I don't feel quite the same about Jordan because with her, I never worked, we'd gotten rid of our rental properties and moved west by her 5th birthday, and knowing she was my last - I spent every moment of her first 10 years treasuring and savoring it. I remember holding her in the middle of the night at about 6 months old. I remember thinking, "She'll never be this little again, not even in the morning."
Back to my boys. We've been through karate, bo staff training, tournaments, scrapbooking classes, cartooning classes, flag football, soccer, drama (my favorite of all their activities), and so much more. Now Logan spends weeks at a time away in the summer at his grandparents' house and just went on his first weekend retreat with our church. Adam spends weekends at his friend's house, goes to church with him, and works on Saturday. They're definitely not just "boys" anymore. They're quickly becoming young men, faster than I can keep up.
I think the hardest thing has been the last 2 years. We've been hit by the economy pretty bad. Tim brings home about 1/2 what he used to, yet costs keep going up. I work a few days a week, all my boss can afford to give me, and it's only enough to buy groceries & gas between paychecks - yet it's big enough to keep me from allowing them to do weekend events and activities since I'm gone and they're stuck home.
This summer we leave the city and move to the mountains. With less available for me, I think it'll be easier for me to unplug from responsibilities and choose only the best things for our family to do. I'm looking forward to more family time, more quiet, more space, fresh air, clean water, and less rushing around. I picture cool fall evenings sitting around a fire pit in the back yard, hopefully talking about the important things with our kids. Hopefully they'll play along.
