Sitting on the porch swing in our pajamas while the hubs strummed the guitar and we all sang the crawdad song. Yep, that was us last night.

I’m not going to lie. It was kind of perfect.

I’m learning to slow down just a little. I have four kids. I homeschool. I have a couple ongoing freelance gigs. I have a husband and a home and, sometimes, I can just get too busy. I like to be productive, but busyness overwhelms me. Life was meant to be lived slowly. Each moment should be savored like that last treat from the ice cream truck before it disappears at the end of August.

It all goes away so fast. I look at baby photos and realize I can’t remember all of those moments I swore I would never forget. The reality is that, sometimes, I don’t even know whose baby picture I’m holding! Don’t pretend like you mamas of multiple children don’t have that same problem. All of my babies were bald until they were two. I’m great at hand-me-downs. So, for the most part, you can’t really go by the outfit. Usually, it’s my bad hair that gives away the year.

I’ve been watching y’all post about kids going to high school and off to college. Then I read Rachel’s post here and my heart shattered into a million pieces. I know that I’m going to blink and this stage will be over. There will not be any more barbies all over the house or baby toys in every room. No longer will I climb into my bed at night and find a baby doll that someone had “put down for a nap” earlier in the day.

I know the next stage will be a blessing as well. I really am excited to see what God has in store for these lovely ladies who love Him so much. But, goodness, I’ll miss our morning meetings over strawberry Pop tarts and our night time watching of Andy Griffith.

I better go, now. I don’t want to miss this episode of Woody Woodpecker.

~~~~