They All Call Me Mom

The Good vs. The Bad

I was just giving thought to how quickly time seems to pass for me lately.  I just can’t believe that my oldest will be 20 years old next month, and that my second oldest just turned 18 at the beginning of this year.  I still have young ones, sure, but times goes so quickly…and no doubt before I know it, they will all be adults, too.  Even when they turn just 8 or 9 years old, things start changing…
GOOD THINGS ABOUT KIDS GETTING OLDER
1)  They are more independent with things such as homework and general personal hygiene.   It’s so nice to send someone “off” to do their homework, to take a bath, etc…and not have to be there with them.
2)  They can watch a few little ones for me if I have to run to the store real quick or when I go out dancing at a club.  (okay, so the club thing I just threw in there to see if you were paying attention!)
3)  They have interesting conversations with me.  They become interested in the world around them and want to hear my thoughts and opinions on certain things.  I  enjoy talking, really talking, with my kids.
4)  They go out of the house more, visiting friends and such.   Makes for less chaos in the home when they are out.
5)  They are old enough to do chores the right way!
6) If they are old enough to drive, it’s nice that they can pick up or take a younger sibling somewhere for me, or stop by the store for milk or break.
BAD THINGS ABOUT KIDS GETTING OLDER
1)  They never just want to stay home anymore!  I always have to worry about what they are doing, who they are with, where they are, if they are safe, etc.  When they are home, I can see what the are doing, who they are with, and of course they are as safe as it gets when they are in our home.
2)  I can’t help them with their  homework anymore once they get into Geometry or higher math — tutors are needed if they need extra help, and that costs $$$$$
3)  At around age 16 or 17 they want to get a job so they can earn their own money and have money to pay for car insurance so that they can drive…which is all good except, well..that’s more time out of the home!  Not only that, but when we want to take off on a weekend vacation, they might have to work.  It creates scheduling problems.
4)  When they get into their teen years, they get busier.  If they play a sport, there are weekend games.  Again, if we want to go out of town for the weekend on a family trip, some of the older kids might not be able to come along due to prior commitments.  They stay with friends.  I hate going on trips with a couple of my kids missing, or even just one.  It never feels quite right when all nine aren’t there.
5)   It’s harder to buy them birthday and Christmas gifts once they pass the age of 14.  Little kids are much easier to shop for!
6)  When they are 16 or 17 years old…they drive!  Not only that, but their friends drive!  Parents are no longer driving them around.  I worry.  Always.
All in all, I love all the ages that my kids enter into.  With each age comes new challenges, new experiences,  new gray hairs (that would be on MY head, of course!)  and I take the good changes with the bad changes.  I just wish it didn’t all go  by so quickly!  Right now, in this moment in time, I have ALL nine of my children living under my roof.  This is such a rare time…to have them all living at home…because for the rest of my life it won’t be this way.  These days are special.  I just want to remember and cherish these days forever.  That is why I document everything that I can think of…and I take lots of pictures!!

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Comments

  3. Oh my – I have 2 in college – the driving STILL scares me! They still aren’t that good at it!LOL, I worry about everything, even with college. Friends, schedules, everything. Then I have the 7 at home. So strange, I feel like I have a foot in two different worlds. You are so good, though, I dread mine growing up. I want my babies to stay little a little longer!

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  4. Also just wanted to say that your blog makes me feel cozy and happy. After reading your previous post about the kids in your bed my heart got big and happy. The hubs and I have a movie night in our bed with the kids, we also allow Aiden to stay in our bed, but if we tell our families these they attack us telling us all the things we are doing wrong. I know all to well this is a short time that will pass so fast for us to enjoy them. I want them to feel love and connected to us always.

    Any chance you will do a post on how you decided to have a large family? I apologize if its too personal to ask, but we so want to have more kids and you wouldn’t believe how many people discourages us to do so.

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  5. Gosh, I’m with you. Alain is old enough to watch Aiden which helps me out so much. But with that comes the fact of him wanting to go away (like 6 hrs flying away) for college, he is doing his first 2yrs in state and then I know the time will come to let him go. So not ready.

    I see you work for Arbonne, is this as in the makeup/beauty? I have a set of their makeup brushes that I adore.

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  8. My oldest just turned 15 so we’re not quite yet to the driving stage yet, but part of me can’t wait and the other part of me is scared to death. With the new independence comes more worries for mama :) As much as I want them to stay little forever, I also can’t wait for them to grow and see what they accomplish in their lives :)

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