Be Prepared...Have a Tissue Ready!

As I was fumbling through one of my drawers in search of some Christmas letters we've received over the years, I came across a clipping from a newspaper that I'd been holding on to for years. I'd forgotten all about it, so I read over it...and the emotions hit me like a ton of bricks.

Let me just say that for those of us who are parents, we've all had moments when we've said, "Can't our kids just hurry and grow up!" Well, Erma Bombeck wrote this touching article, which originally appeared in 1969. I thought it might move you like it did me...and make you REALLY stop and think what you're wishing for. Trust me...grab a tissue!

Parents, Always Be Careful What You Ask For

A young mother writes: "I know you've written before about the empty-nest syndrome--that lonely period after the children are grown and gone. Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and muddy boots. The baby is teething; the boys are fighting. My husband just called and said to eat without him, and I fell off my diet. Lay it on me, again, will you?"

OK. One of these days, you'll shout, "Why don't you kids grow up and act your age!" And they will. Or, "You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do...and don't slam the door!" And they won't.

You'll straighten up the boys' bedroom neat and tidy--bumper stickers discarded, bedspread tucked and smooth, toys displayed on the shelves. And you'll say out loud, "Now, I want it to stay this way." And it will.

You'll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing, and you'll say, "Now, there's a meal for company." And you'll eat it alone.

You'll say, "I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. Silence! Do you hear?" And you'll have it.

No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti. No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms. No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps. No more clothespins under the sofa. No more playpens to arrange a room around.

No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent. No more sand on the sheets. No more iron-on patches, wet, knotted shoestrings, tight boots, or rubber bands for ponytails.

Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it. No baby sitter for New Year's Eve. Washing only once a week. Seeing a steak that isn't ground. Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap.
No more PTA meetings. No car pools. No blaring radios. No one washing her hair at 11 o'clock at night. Having your own roll of Scotch tape.

Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste. No more sloppy oatmeal kisses. No more tooth fairy. No giggles in the dark. No knees to heal, no responsibility.

Only a voice crying, "Why don't you grow up?" And the silence echoing, "I did."

Need I say more??? As I was typing away, the tears were streaming down my face. Sure hits home when your oldest child is about to leave the nest. All of you who have small kids...enjoy each and every second you have with them because it goes by, oh, so fast!