Moving On

Well it was time, I finally did it. What was it I did? I moved the toddler bed from Carolyn's room to Andrew's and Matthew's room. It's not like Carolyn was using it anymore. We got her a "big girl" bed last September so that is what she has been sleeping in these past months. It was just a lot easier to leave the bed in her room and let her play on it and use it to keep the stuffed animals off the floor. For the past few weeks or so I have been letting Andrew sleep on Matthew's bed on occasion and it has worked out OK. Usually it was in the afternoons when I would get home from running errands or grocery shopping and the little guy was passed out in the car seat. It is a lot easier to put him on a bed than try to get him in the crib. He hasn't figured out how to climb in and out yet but it is only a matter of time since Carolyn loves to climb in and play. He is defiantly getting older and more independent. The high chair stands unused in the kitchen, a testament to his wanting to eat at the table with the rest of us. Of course he also likes to sit ON the table when eating meals or helping his siblings color and draw. I really should get out the bleach and clean it up so it can go back to the consignment store for the next family to use. The potty chair is somewhere in the garage and that is next on my to do list. Soon the crib will be all that remains of the baby years and that too will be gone. As much as I have loved the past six years, I know that is time to start moving on and go forth into the next phase of parenting. Andrew is no longer a baby. Today I scheduled Carolyn's kindergarten screening and next month I meet with the school to discuss Matthew's goals for first grade. At times it is hard to believe that the kids are growing up. Part of me just wants to keep them small and here with me but the rest of me knows how incredibly selfish that is. I look forward to my children learning and experiencing new things and going out on their own. I want them to go forth and not be afraid. My job as a mother is to guide them and reassure them as they start their life journey. That being said, I still wonder why God let me have the job in the first place. Maybe it's like the musical "My Fair Lady" only instead of trying to teach me to talk proper English, He is trying to prove that anybody can learn to be a Mother. If that's the point, then He has his work cut out.