Oh Darling, Don't You Ever Grow Up....

Everytime I hear this song, Don't Ever Grow Up,  it makes me stop and think of my boys. When I am sitting in the nursery, in the middle of the night and cuddling with Matthew, I think of this song and hug him a little tighter. When I am putting Jonathan to sleep at night and he begs me to sing him his favorite song one more time, I think of this song and I go ahead and sing it again. Because before I know it, they will grow up.

"Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up"

So many of these words ring true for how I feel towards my boys. I have spent so many nights praying these exact things for them. Prayers that they lead long, healthy, happy lives. Prayers that they will never know heartache, hurt or pain. Prayers that they will forever feel the same happiness and innocence that they feel right now. And at the same time, I pray that Zack and I are able to truly enjoy these early days with them to the full extent. Unfortunately, sometimes when life gets hard, I lose sight of this. I think all parents do to an extent. We get so busy and so tired and so frustrated that we forget to cherish these special days with our kids. Over the past week, I have been really convicted about taking time out with my boys to just stop and play and enjoy each other.

Our spring break was perfect. I was able to calm down and relax and really enjoy my boys. We cuddled, played, fed horses, tried finger painting, made cookies, went for walks, played at the park, cooked good food, jumped on the bed and built thousands of towers out of blocks. We deviated from our schedule while the workmen were finishing the repairs on our house (even the most organized, OCD Mom has to be flexible with that kind of chaos!) and we slept in places other than our normal beds. We got dirty and wet while we washed cars and drove the golf cart around the neighborhood in the rain. We stayed up a little later and slept in a little longer. And even after all of that....all the changed schedules, dirty clothes, junk food and deviations from our routines....we were still happy. It made me realize that those are not the things that matter. What matters is being together and spending time with the people I love the most. Because at the end of the day, my boys will grow up and I will desperately long for these days again.