Friday, January 14, 2011

Business is GOOD

Mischief is my business
And business is GOOD.

This is what James' shirt says today. And to be honest, it's completely TRUE. My little sweet boy has turned into a toddler. He gets this twinkle in his eye as he turns and darts away from you, because he knows it's time for his bath. But then...

Last night, I was sitting in the stake center waiting for my turn to finish renewing my temple recommend. One of the neat (yet frustrating) things about living in the stake that you grew up in is that you see people who knew you when you were a baby. As I was sitting in foyer, I saw several people who have known my family since before I was born, pretty much.

I also sat with this woman, whom I adore. We were talking about our children, and she was asking me about mine. There were other moms in the room, and we laughed about raising children. Each of us were at a different stage in our lives, so I was getting all the advice I could in a few short minutes!

The conversation turned to my son, who is 19 months old...almost. Entering the "terrible two's" with a FURRY. I was commenting about how he was such a mellow, easy-going, enjoyable baby. But lately, he has turned into a HOLY TERROR. Tantrums - fierce ones. Throwing things. Hitting. Screaming. Kicking. Being a little boy.



She simply smiled, nodded, and said, "It won't be like that for long." At the moment, I knew she was talking about the tantrums stage. I knew she was saying, "He won't be like that for long. Soon, he'll be out of the terrible two's and back to his sweet self."

But as the night went on, I thought and I pondered. And I have been thinking about her comment all day. I took it a step further, and she's right - it won't be like this for long. Because before I know it, he'll be a boy. Then a teenager. Then a driver. Then a missionary. Then a husband. Then a father. And I'm going to think back to when he was this ornery little boy. Well...recently ornery little boy.

In the words of Darius Rucker:

"It won’t be like this for long
One day soon that little [boy] is gonna be

All grown up and gone
Yeah, this phase is gonna fly by

So, [I'm] tryin’ to hold on

‘Cause it won’t be like this for long."

I am going to enjoy every stage, because each one is important. Sure, he throws some mean temper tantrums, but he gives some amazing hugs and kisses. He often stops what he's doing to come over and give me a hug, and then run back to whatever task he was doing. There will be times when the only person he wants is ME...and I love it. So where did my sweet, mellow, charming baby boy go? He's still in there somewhere. It's just disguised right now by the thought of knocking down his sister's tower. He'll reappear again soon.



4 comments:

Carlie said...

thank you amber, this is just the perspective i needed to hear today. seriously.

Carlie said...

amber, this is just the message i needed to hear today. seriously. you have no idea how many times i am uplifted by your blog!

Ren, Anna, & Tristan said...

So so so true!!! I love it! It's like that poem I keep on my computer desk. Did you ever end up copying that one?

annieareyouok said...

Ahhh yes. The old "who-took-my-sweet-baby-and-replaced-him-with-a-demon" phase ;)I'm familiar and it will be over before you know it!