Milestones

How do you deal with those major milestones in your life, and specifically, in your kids' lives?  Milestones are great of course, but they can be bittersweet too.  How do you preserve the positive memories and not linger on what is now over?

As our third child is just a few weeks away from arriving, my wife and I are busy getting our house in order to make sure everything is ready.  Yesterday we were given bunk beds by some friends (thanks Dave and Wendy!).  Last night was the first night our boys have ever slept in the same room, and the first night our youngest son has slept in a bed instead of a crib.  It was two milestones, and two birds with one stone.  A great moment to be sure, but as my wife and I walked out of their room after putting them to bed, we exchanged a look of "Oh this is so great!...but I'm a bit sad at the same time..."

Sad only because your kids grow up so fast.  We took pictures and videos, and we'll remember that night.  But how did it come so quickly?  I find myself asking that question more and more lately.  I try to take distinct mental notes, clear mental snapshots, to make sure I remember those moments.  Even with those though, the memories begin to fade with time.  That's why the pictures and video are important.

A friend told me that perhaps a good way to deal with the quickening pace of life is to look forward to what's coming.  Instead of being sad about what's now over, look forward to the big moments (first day of school, first girlfriend/boyfriend, graduation, etc) and celebrate when they arrive.  It's good advice.

As I write, my wife has just texted me to say both my boys had a great sleep.  On to the next chapter :)

Vacation

My wife and I were on vacation last week, and many people will say that we did something a bit crazy.  We went camping with two young kids - a 2.5 year old and an 11 month old....and with my wife being pregnant.  Now, it was car camping, much lighter than what we were considering (hiking for an hour into the deep bush), but that was a good decision because yep, it was a bit crazy...a lot of fun, but a lot of work.  For those considering something like this, know that while it is a 'vacation', it's not really a vacation.  It was fun, but not relaxing...

It was fun.  It was awesome to see our two boys out in nature.  They LOVE being outside.  They love playing together.  No iPads, laptops, or TV.  Just having fun outside.  We brought a bunch of toys and they had fun playing, chasing balls, swimming, playing in the sand, and getting horribly dirty.  It was fun creating memories together.  It was fun watching my 2.5 year old play with his new 'Thomas' flashlight that he got specifically for camping, and that he loved.  It was fun spending time as a family with no agenda.  It was fun taking on a new challenge, something that we knew would be difficult, but that would be worth it in the end.  And it was.

But not relaxing...  Kids can be a handful.  Little boys never seem to run out of energy.  There was never a down moment, which is a bit of the opposite of what camping is supposed to be, lol.  We were always on the go chasing after one or both of the boys.  Nap times were difficult, and night time...well that was a write-off.  Getting them to bed was quite the challenge, then keeping them asleep through the night was next to impossible.  There was very little sleep.

But despite the craziness, we would do it all over again.  We love camping, and we want to pass that down to our boys at a young age.  Next year when we have three kids, we will do it again (Lord-willing).  It's a cheap, fun vacation, away from all distractions and technology.  It's a great way to reconnect with God and be reminded of his incredible creation of nature...do you know how many deer we saw??  We lost count after the second day!

Yep, we'd do it all over again.

Birthday

I turned 33 yesterday.  It was my birthday, meaning I could do whatever I wanted.  My wife kept asking, "What do you want to do?  Anything you want, it's your day!"  But I worked in the morning, and had a 2.5 hour meeting that I had to go to in the evening...so there were only a few hours in the middle of the day that were 'mine'.

So what was my choice for 'whatever I wanted to do' for those few hours?

I took a nap.  A wonderful, magnificent, almost heavenly, nap.  My wife took the kids, and I had some one-on-one time with my pillow.  I woke up feeling so refreshed.

For those of you who think I'm lame, I understand.  I too used to be so naive once.  Then I had kids.  And started working at 5am.  And everything changed.

It was the best birthday ever.