Just the other day, I was leaving the home of someone with young children, and on my way out, she apologized that I had to step over all of the shoes that were in front of the door – shoes that belonged to her kids and their friends. I just laughed and promised her she’d miss these days, and those shoes, and then she laughed back at me, because… well, I don’t think she believed me.
The whole conversation took me back… way back… all the way back to the day I walked into my home and realized there WERE no more shoes scattered all over the floor from my sons and their neighborhood friends. There was no more laughter with the shananigans going on in the basement while my sons and their friends played video games, or watched movies.
I always hated tripping over those shoes. It drove me nuts! But no one ever told me that someday I’d miss that big messy pile of shoes.
I remember the day I walked in the front door – like any other day, except that this time, I just stood there suddenly realizing that there were no more boys’ shoes to step over. And, to make matters worse… I’d never step over shoes again. No one prepared me for this.
I often tell young moms not to wish the days of snuggling babies away too quickly, and not to be in a hurry for their kids to grow up. Sometimes when I see parents of little boys in stores, I’ll laugh and tell them, “they will be shaving and chasing girls before you know it!” They laugh but… isn’t it true?
Sometimes in life, it’s hard to convince ourselves that we will miss whatever season we’re walking through (or crawling through).
So lately I’ve been pondering the possibility too – that I might actually miss this very season of life I’m in the middle of – even with all of its aches and pains, health challenges, life’s daily drama, and just all of the changes that come along with aging. Could it actually be true – that just like missing tripping over a big pile of stinky shoes – I might actually miss this current season of life? Yeah, I think it could…
Oh, did I mention my son, Ian, just got engaged, that the wedding is in January, and that he and his wife Hayley will live in Denver? Now, that’s a visit I’m looking forward to! And Rory and Holly are having my 3rd grandchild in December! Another little one to snuggle!
I sure miss having to step over that pile of shoes, but I wouldn’t trade getting another daughter-in-love, and another grand baby for anything in this world!
Yeah, one day, I think I’m gonna miss these days, too. For sure!
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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