Treasuring life’s special moments
This August has been a big month for the Jordan family. I dare to say, it’s been our biggest yet.
Not only did our daughter, Tilly, turn 2 Aug. 7, but at the time I’m writing this, we’re also eagerly awaiting the birth of our son, Grady, who will be here before these words make it to press.
With our children’s birthdays being two years and just days apart, it looks like August will be an expensive month in the years to come.
Being 38 weeks pregnant at the time of Tilly’s birthday, I knew this year we would have to host an indoor party for Tilly. Majorly pregnant in the extreme heat is not a combination that sits well with me.
Fortunately, there are few things my daughter loves more than reading, so we decided on a bookworm-themed party. With the assistance of Cristy Taylor and the Broadmoor Branch of Shreve Memorial Library, we were set for an amazing storytime that took the pressure off Tilly’s very pregnant mama to entertain a group of toddlers for a couple of hours.
Admittedly, birthday parties have gotten a bit ridiculous in recent years, and my birthday parties are no exception. Long gone are the days of putt-putt and roller skating parties, although I bet our children would love those no less. Nowadays, the details must be flawless. The decorations all themed. The cookies and cake required to be equal parts adorable and delicious. We are the Pinterest party generation.
It’s all a little over the top, which is exactly what my husband, Ty, said as he worked to hang a paper lantern worm from our living room mantel just after midnight the night before Tilly’s bookworm-themed birthday party. He thought and expressed to me, “What’s the point?” And to me, the worm just didn’t look “wiggly” enough, and … exactly, what was the point of a worm with no wiggle. Even at 38 weeks pregnant, I saw the point and wasn’t willing to cut corners.
And while as mothers and party planners our efforts may appear misguided, I know it amounts to much more in the heart of each mom than the desire to throw a party other moms will envy. We want to give our kids the very best we can, whatever that may be and in whatever way we deem important. We want to capture each moment at its fullest because these moments come and go so quickly. We want to savor the milestones that we’ll never cross again.
I knew that soon after Tilly’s birthday our lives would change forever as we became a family of four. Of course, as everyone is quick to tell me, with Tilly being so young she will adjust easily and never remember her life without Grady. But this was the last occasion we would mark as a family of three, and I wanted to celebrate her to the fullest.
After all, it feels impossible that she’s already 2 years old. I remember the details of bringing her home just like it was yesterday. I was filled with all the nervous energy of a first-time mom. I slept in the glider in her room for days with practically one eye opened until exhaustion drove me back to my own bed. How was it possible that I’d been entrusted with this small person to care for? And now, I look back wondering where my baby girl has gone.
Watching Tilly turn 2 just days before welcoming a newborn into our family has admittedly made me a little sad. Grady’s birth is certainly an event I welcome, and I cannot wait to greet our little boy as he enters into our family and this world. But it also makes me realize how quickly Tilly has grown and changed and that soon a new life will bring more change to our household.
There have been days that tested the limits of my patience and days that have tested me as a mother. Not every moment is a Hallmark memory. But at this moment, I wish I had a pause button that could stop life from moving so fast and take a deep mental picture of all I’ve been given and the milestones we’ve all shared up to this point. I know great adventures are in store. And I know that having one child has enriched my life beyond measure, and an even greater joy will come with two.
However, these past several weeks I have been caught between simultaneously anticipating the new memories we will make as a family and feeling a twinge of sadness for the ones that have already passed.
This feeling is the same reason moms cry when they drop off for that first day of kindergarten. Or why parents struggle with the empty nest when their teenagers move off to college or whatever the next step in their own adventure may be.
The milestones tug at us. They make us yearn for the moments that have passed and make us wish we’d held a little tighter as the everyday, simple moments of life passed through our fingers unrecognized for the treasures they are.
