Seems Like Only Yesterday...

My baby is not a baby anymore. In less than one week he will be 2. Where does the time go? The other day I looked at him and noticed that his legs are longer than they seemed to be only a week ago. Is that even possible? Of course I know he did not grow significantly overnight, but seriously, am I really so unobservant that I don't even realizing my child is growing? I didn't think I was. But it makes me sad to think about nonetheless.

He's talking more and more everyday. I'm sure every mother of a toddler says that, I know. But he says things like, "Turn that music off, mom" while riding in the car or "I want to go to Grandma's house." He tells me daily, "I wanna go downstairs and rock on the the drums!" (Not real drums, thank GOODNESS, just the ones for the video game Rock Band). I mean really, those are rather large sentences for such a little guy. The other day while on the phone with my sister Micah said, "That's amazing!" Really? Amazing? I, personally, am impressed. And yes, I know I'm biased. But just a few months ago his vocabulary was quite limited and today there is not too much he can not say. Very rarely does he have a problem expressing his thoughts for lack of vocabulary. Once again it makes me ask, where has the time gone?

Of course I'm excited to watch my child grow and learn. There really does seem to be something new everyday. I'm just glad that I've always taken too many pictures, because I don't remember the day of his birth as clearly as I did this time last year. And that too makes me sad. Will I remember it vividly at all 20 years from now? I hope so. But just to be safe, "Say CHEESE!"

So Sad...

Recently my community has been witness to some devastating events. A police officer lost his life in the line of duty. As the community grieves the loss of the officer, is seems to me as though we are forgetting that another man lost his life as well. Do I think that any person has the right to take the life of another? Absolutely not. But I feel torn apart inside when I read the news, see the television interviews, and over and over you only hear, "I pray for the officer's family..." Why? Because a tragedy is just that, a tragedy. Is it is fair to put a value on any one's life? Is one life more precious than the next? Sometimes awful things happen and we tend to focus only on one side of the situation. But I believe that it is important to remember that 2 families lost a husband, a father, a son. I find it hard to believe, even for just one second, that either family is grieving any more or less than the other. Death is death. The loss of a loved one is painful no matter what the reason. If you truly are a God loving person, then do not judge. Pray for all the families involved. Everyone needs to be comforted during times of mourning. Everyone.

I looked outside into my back yard other day to see a tulip breaking ground. YAY! Spring is just around the corner, I couldn't be happier. I'm beyond tired of this long Ohio winter. I really hope that we don't get anymore snow, which I know is not an impossibility. But, we shouldn't have anymore snow storms this year, I think.

Although Spring is not my favorite season, that would be fall, I do enjoy watching everything turn from grey to green. It's a sign of the fun to come. I think that Micah can sense it too, he asks to go for a walk whenever I mention to him that it's nice outside.

And so...

I'm looking forward to the late nights outside chatting with the neighbors about absolutely nothing while sitting around a fire on my patio sharing a beer.

I'm excited about seeing Micah's face when he finds a random dandy lion and picks it for me; he gets overjoyed when he can give mommy a flower.

I'm anticipating having my windows open and the smell of fresh cut grass waifing though my house as all the neighbors manicure their lawns.

I'm really happy about the prospects of my muddy back yard drying up so I can give the dogs a bath that will keep then clean for more than a day. My white dogs look brown right now and they STINK!

I'm elated at the idea of the sun being warm enough to bump me up a few (hundred) notches on the color spectrum. I'm looking pretty pale these days. Seriously, the other day at the gym when we were doing some mat work and I was looking around at all the exposed legs in the air, I could not differentiate my own from any of the white women's in my class. I need a tan.

Most of all, I'm delighted about the longer days to come. There is just something intoxicating about the sun shining at 8:30p.m. It really seems like I can get more accomplished in a day when the days are "longer".

Happy Spring, everyone! What makes you look forward to the warm and sunny days to come?