How Time Moves Faster With Kids
When People Say Time Flies With Kids, Here's What They Really Mean
If I had a dollar for every person who told me that I would be shocked at how quickly time was going to fly with kids, I would have made more than enough money to cover the cost of diapers those first few months. Mostly my response was a simple nod and smile, even though I sure didn't feel like that.
Looking back on it, those first few months were painfully slow. I remember desperately waiting to get to the six-week mark so we could begin a real schedule and feeling like that was the longest 42 days of my life.
When people say time flies with kids, what they're really saying is there's just never enough of it.
And then, suddenly, he was 3 months old, and then 6 months, and now he's 2 going on 10. While it felt like the days were dripping by at a glacial pace, the months and years were zooming by all too quickly. When people say time flies with kids, what they're really saying is there's just never enough of it.
There's never enough time to do all the things that need to happen in a day, manage all the chores, while still trying to embrace all the amazing changes your child goes through. As parents, we don't recognize and appreciate the small changes in our kids over time because we are so busy trying to keep all of our commitments afloat. There will never be enough time to get all the cuddles, to go to all the parks, and to play all the games.
Yet, it's the acknowledgment of these things that makes raising kids so wonderful. In knowing that time is limited, it helps us recognize the special moments. I used to be adamant that my son always cry it out and never cosleep. That all changed when I noticed how incredibly long he had gotten. While he used to look positively itty-bitty in his crib, suddenly he could stretch the full length of the crib, his hands outstretched and gripping on to the bars.
My tiny baby, the one who I couldn't wait to get onto a schedule, had turned into a big kid. Time slipped away from me then, but it's because of how fast those moments flew by that I don't really care anymore if he needs some comfort from his big scary dreams in the middle of the night. After all, his time is precious, and it's worth savoring everything I can.
