So, I was being very insightful (at least I think so...) this morning as hubs left at 4:30 am
for work- after a great long and lazy Sunday with the Fam...
We slept in, kids brought us breakfast in bed, we hung out at the library for an hour and
investigated some of the kids interests-Caroline was looking into how to keep things
organized and be minimalists(gotta' love that from a thirteen year old!:) Fred, on the
other hand, was looking into the mechanics of how to make a bike similar to the one the
boy rides in "The Lorax"- he's my engineer minded creative thinking inventor, alright!
Constance was into mysteries and totally navigated the library by herself like a pro-matching
up an Andrew Clements book with one on a little audio player so she could
listen and read at the same time...(this one is DESTINED to be a pit boss or CEO for a
fortune 500 company!) Cristina's sole concern was animals-as always- my little
veterinarian to be! We had just left our friend Kelly's house- who works at an animal
rescue house in GR- she was feeding several red & black baby squirrels with a syringe so
of course Christina picked out a squirrel book!:) Anthony was zigzagging all over the
place looking for games to play, puzzles to put together, books to read, etc. he's
ALWAYS busy doing something- good- bad or messy!(this is, of course, the most likely
of the three...) what will this little guy grow up to be???
Then we had a happy jaunt through the woods- a one mile trek through the
Conservatory in Belmont- so fun! We pushed through that, walking sticks and all, &
chose to hit downtown Rockford for dinner & treats. The arguing over what candy to get
at Rudy Kazoody's and the "me first" attitude of eating the sampler platter at The Corner
Bar- led me to this: I would much preferred to have spent that over $70 smacks on
groceries, a picnic by th Dam- and more FREE fun time with the kiddos.
SOOOOo... My insightful thinking was this, and REALLY think about this. Where will you
be and what will you be doing in FIVE years? Time surely does fly. I can remember the
feeling of just finding out I was pregnant with each of my sweet babies.... And they are
13,11,9.5,7.5 & 3.5 now. I will treasure the moments with them at home, cooking
together, watching them play, grow and learn...and of course argue, because, let's be
realistic here, five kids lends to A LOT of that!!! But I'll treasure those moments, because
as many dear old cute little grandparent types have told me, since day one, "appreciate
the time when they are little, because time flies, and before you know it, they're gone!"
So, in 5 years, I will have an 18 year old in her senior year, making the final decisions
about her career choice, a 16 year old boy, who will be driving and will likely even have
to shave, and be a tenth grader (yikes my baby boy!). A 14 year old eighth grader with I
am certain, a very dominant head on her shoulders, a teeny Tina Tina Tween, being in
her first year of middle school. And alas, a sweet eight year old boy who, HOPEFULLY,
won't change much- for this sappy mom's sake! :)
The busyness of this family won't change much, in the near future(at least let's hope!)
So I hope to reflect healthy, sensible, not to difficult to prepare dinners on a budget for
my FamMenu... And I hope it helps some of you to think outside the culinary box! :)
