"I wonder if I'm taller than Grandma Luthy," he said.
"You're not," I assured him.
At the time, she was out of the country, remember, so he couldn't check.
"How can you know for sure?" he asked.
It didn't take much to burst his balloon. "Because I'm shorter than my mom, and you're still shorter than I am."
"Oh. Dang."
And that was that. In late July. Just over THREE months ago.
If you recall, my parents are home now. (YIPPPPEEEEEE!) We had a fantastic reunion on Friday, and my kids are drinking them in any chance they get, even though Grandma and Grandpa haven't had a chance to hardly unpack and are surely still jet lagged.
We saw them briefly yesterday, and the kids were throwing stuff out like, "In two months, I'm in the school play, so you have to come to that," and, "I have a band thing on Tuesday I want you to come to. I play the flute now. Did you know that?" and," Our piano recital is coming up soon."
Amidst the barrage, I assured my parents I'd let them know about each event well in advance. Let's just say the kidlets are excited to have a chance for their grandparents to be involved in their lives again.
Then my son stood next to Grandma. They were so close in height, we had to flatten their hair to see who is taller. It was Grandma, but only by about a quarter of an inch.
Which means he's got to be taller than I am now. He did this IN THREE MONTHS. My baby boy! AAAACK!
I'm having more of these mommy moments of freaking out that time is moving at the speed of light. On Halloween, my son dressed up in the same costume he'd worn to school, but he wasn't trick-or-treating, because he's too old for that now. So he was on candy duty. Next year, he'll probably have a Halloween party with his high school friends in the basement.
(Can someone explain how this happened? Is there a rip in the space-time continuum or something? Because that's the only thing that makes sense. I swear he was just in kindergarten.)
He recently informed me that in just over a year, he'll be able to get his learner's permit. I think that information stripped about 5 years off the end of my life.
Next child down was old enough to go trick-or-treating with a group of her girl buddies. So I took out just my youngest two. They're plenty big now, so I didn't need to pull a wagon to save their tiny little legs the effort of walking blocks and blocks like I used to when they were toddlers. Far from it; my youngest literally ran from house to house, urging us to go faster.
I thought back to when I had all four of them with me each Halloween, wearing their little costumes (which I'd often made). How small they'd been. How cute. How fast the years have gone. How many years of this I have left . . . with two of them, and then one. It made me sad.
Then I got another time warp kicker this morning. I recently bought a pair of sneakers that were on clearance at Payless for something like $7, but I was buying a pair of Sunday shoes for another kid, and the store had their Buy One, Get One 1/2 Off sale, so I got the sneakers for $3.50. They're actually 1/2 a size too small for me, but if I keep the laces loose, they work (and I got them for the price of a hamburger!).
Today, my twelve-year-old daughter came to me before school and asked if she could borrow them.
They fit her. What the what?!
My son is taller than I am and will be driving soon.
My daughter can fit into my shoes. Or at least into my smallish ones. Soon, she'll be raiding my closet.
Next thing I know, they'll both be dating.
And graduating from high school. And going on missions and starting college and getting married and . . .
STOP!!! I can't take it!
Yesterday I snuggled my littlest in my lap for awhile. She's a bit big for that, but I needed it. She snuggled right back and didn't want to leave. It's nice to know she needed it too.
I may be Mom, but for a little while, I'm still Mommy, too. That's not a title I'm willing to relinquish quite yet.
26 comments:
I cannot process the concept that there will ever be a time when my oldest will be taller me. Even though that time is probably less than three years away. Will.Not.Compute.
Wasn't he as small as the one I'm growing now just yesterday?
My oldest is about as tall as me too-- it is hard to believe. What used to feel like an eternity ahead of me is already in my rear view mirror practically. It makes me sad, too.
Teenage boys grow so fast!
And yay for your parents being home!
I could have written this post.
My oldest is 14 and a good 4" taller than me. He is now taller than all of his grandparents.
I keep wonering where that cute chubby little baby went.
The WV is fartivor. Strangely appropriate since were talking about teenage boys.
Keep 'em young and snuggling with you as long as you possibly can! My 11 year old is scrawny and can still sit on my lap. It's one of my favorite things!!! My five year old with be 15 before I quit trying to snuggle (poor girl!)
As you worry about the future happenings ----- how is the lenght of his pants? Are they wrapping his ankle bones or are they still at the top of the shoes? I always was behind the eight ball on that one!!!!!
My wake up moment came when I realized that three of my sons wear the same size of socks as I do now. My oldest only has a few inches to be five feet tall, and when that happens I think my world with implode. Time goes faster every day!
I'm 31 and I still want snuggles from my Mummy sometimes...
And I'm still thrown that my three year old can talk never mind the rest of it. Oi.
It's only been the last couple of years that I've had the fear start rising. I've always thought I'd be SO glad when they grew up, but, ya know, I kinda miss em already. Congrats on Mom and Dad being home, I can only imagine how great that is for all of you.
My son is a good head taller than me now and both my girls are taller than me. Since I'm short, I have to remind them that being taller than mom is not such a great accomplishment. :) On the other hand, I don't use the step stool in the kitchen nearly so often anymore.
It was a joyous day in our household when my son surpassed me in height. He'd always been one of the shortest in his class and we were a little worried. Then - KABLAM! - he started growing so fast I could almost hear his skin stretching. Now I have to really stretch to give him a hug and kiss. But the real mind-blower is his bass voice. The first time I heard him singing along with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" I had to turn around and make sure it was really my son.
And I like sharing shoes with my daughter. Hers are so much cuter than mine.
My son's feet have exploded in the last month too.
His voice hasn't changed--YET. I'm bracing myself for that one.
I suppose it would be super obvious with a boy being your first, what with voice changing and the growth spurts they tend to hit.
Bria is only 9, but she already comes up to my shoulder, and I'm tall! I think she's going to pass me up sooner than later and be one tall little girl! And I hate my kids' birthdays (but love them all at the same time) because I can't fathom how old they're getting. Gah.
Oh, you make me want to go squish my babies!
It's amazing how fast teenagers can grow!
I'm so glad you have your parents home again. Absence has clearly made your hearts grow fonder. Enjoy the opportunities that have been waiting these last few years- it sounds like the kids are more than ready for that!
You're so right to treasure every single moment. It goes way too fast.
It tickles me to pieces when my 15 year old "baby" affectionately calls me momma instead of mom. But nothing will every beat "mommy".
Sadly, I know my kids will be taller than me. Their father is a good 5 inches taller than me and they're well on their way to being just like dad. *sigh*
I hear you about time. Just the other day my dudes were baking in the isolette and now they're climbing trees and doing multiplication tables. When did this happen?
My oldest is 12 and his feet are bigger than mine. He keeps measuring himself to see if he's gotten taller than 5 feet, but he's still got about 10 inches before he'll be taller than me. My youngest just got her first report card. I remember my babies. I had a lot of them (in short order), but now I have kids. So far, though, all of them still like to cuddle. I'm going to hang on to that!
Just for giggles--when my stepdaughter turned 5, her daddy looked at her and said, "stop growing!" She screwed up her face in deep concentration, but had to admit, "I can't." Now she's 18 and will graduate high school in May.
Today is my oldest's 7th birthday. Still trying to wrap my head around this little person coming from that tiny baby I brought home...I might need some more chocolate...
Oh boy do I know what you are talking about. I have had these same time warp issues for a couple years now, but especially this year. My oldest (girl) is almost 16 and my youngest (boy) is almost 14. They are both at least a head taller than I am, wear bigger shoes, dghtr has drivers permit, and now because I have had to move to Montana, they both have chosen to stay in Utah with their dad. So essentially I went from full time Mom to pre-mature empty nester in a matter of 3 months time. It's been really hard. I am not ready to relinquish MOMMY status yet but am learning that I have to let go a little in order to stay sane. Time is definately NOT FAIR!!
I had a doctor tell me just a few weeks ago that if my oldest continues to grow at the rate he's been growing, when he's 18, he'll be about 6'2 and weight 200 lbs. Holy schmoly, that's a big kid! And yet, that's just ten years away. The little giant can already wear my shoes. Not that he prefers lady's shoes. But his monster big feet are big enough to wear them, and he's only 8!! Craziness. He's just started calling me Mom. Not all the time, mostly just in front of his friends. But still!!
And... so happy that your lovely parents are home. :)
It was a trip when my brother's voices changed - and yes, the growing seemed to happen overnight! Wah, that would make me all emotional too to have it happen to my own kids.
Aw. Great post, Annette. I feel you and my kids aren't teens yet!
Don't worry, you'll always be a mommy. I'm not afraid to admit that I still call my mommy (by name) when someone hurts my feelings.
They grow up sooooo fast. My baby is 30. How did that happen? Here's the thing to remember...your kids will some day get married and have children of their own and then magic happens and you're a grandma. Being a Mommy is great, but being a Grandma is awesome. Just ask your mom.
Kids growing up fast makes me sad. I do love that so many great things happen in our lives along the way but I know what you mean. Your babies....
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