A New Pocket of Sunshine

Since having children, it's easiest and best for me to think of my life in stages. In pockets to be more exact. It helps me deal with the constant flux of changes babies & children bring with them upon arrival. (Much like being tossed about in a washing machine, you barely have time to make sense of things before you are spun through another cycle.) Like when the kids were babies I thought in terms of breastfeeding. Everything was loosely based around their eating times and my ridiculous Bethenny Frankel tatas. Most other events fell somewhere before or after their nursing sessions. It was a "Big Boob" pocket. Once that was over, we entered into the "Messy Toddler" phase where we have remained ever since. These pockets can last a few months or a few years. They can also overlap with other pockets like they are doing right now. Grayson is graduating from the Messy Toddler phase and entering into the "Big Kid" stage while Abby is still yucking it up pretty good with pasta, chocolate pancakes, and sidewalk chalk. She has a couple more years in the Messy Toddler pocket so I'm keeping my Tidesticks close. Lucky for me, I am being eased slowly into a new pocket of sunshine. It's the pocket of independence.

Through his language, his actions, his new found bravery with new life experiences, Grayson is slowly exiting his small warm safe nest of little kidness. He is embarking on independence and much to my surprise, I'm not grieving his toddlerhood just yet. I'm so excited for him and this period of growth for him that I am filled with hope, support, and enthusiasm for what is ahead. It helps that Abby is lagging a couple years behind him, allowing me to overlap time zones and comfort zones while getting my feet wet in another arena altogether. In fact, I'm sure if it weren't for her keeping me firmly grounded in toddlerhood we would totally have a new puppy living amongst us because four years was just too fast of a spin cycle for this momma.