Growing Up

Growing Up

By Allan Olson

“Why don’t you grow up?” is a question that is often asked in anger or disgust with someone. Another circumstance is when referring to a young child, i.e., “I can’t wait until you grow up.”

Recently my daughters had their hair cut, and their father had some issues. This was especially true with my oldest daughter Abigail’s nice new hairdo. I remember feeding my children with the bottle, and then with baby food, and now with everything in sight. At those younger stages I remember saying, “I can’t wait until you are done with baby food.” (Insert: bottle and/or especially diapers.) If they were sick and we didn’t know what was bothering them, it was “I wish you could tell us what was wrong.”

Well, last weekend, after seeing her sporting her much shorter hair and looking at her, I realized that, like it or not, my little girl is growing up. I think my heart stopped for a few seconds when that impacted me. I keep telling my children that now that they are getting older, they need to slow down their growing just a little bit so I can still hang on to them for a little longer.

Of course, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, as she is only four.

It’s funny how the first year or two we hang on every word, coo, and make words out of seemingly nothing, but as they get older we want them to talk less because their incessant chatter gets annoying.

My children keep assuring me (as I’ve written in the past) that they are no longer little kids but rather big kids, and as much as I argue their point, I have to concede some ground; they are quickly growing up.

This past weekend we primarily stayed home. No moving anybody, no painting, no construction or demolition of any kind. It was just a nice weekend to relax.

I kept myself busy on Saturday afternoon doing some basic yard maintenance (what I could, with the snow cover still holding tight) while the children enjoyed the new water and the mud in our yard in the nice warm sunshine.

The oldest three were all sporting new water boots and enjoying it. The youngest was missing hers, so wore her winter boots – the next best thing.

The three youngest children each made at least three clothing changes, and each time they assured me that they weren’t going to get wet anymore. I knew better, and soon they were back playing wherever the deepest water was to be found in the ditch.

The winter boots worn by Alivia were soaked to the point that, after being on a vent for three days, were still slightly damp on the inside.

We finished the evening with hamburgers on the grill and a movie after supper.

Sunday the weather turned cooler, and only Nikolai and I were outside. I spent time in the garage trying to straighten the clutter and emptying boxes in some totes and re-stacking them to appear organized. Nikolai spent his time between looking at the toys I found and diverting the water to stream downhill instead of pooling in the yard.

He worked on it solidly, using a stick for half the job before switching to the new spade I bought to accomplish that task and other projects. I was impressed with how much he accomplished with little guidance.

As for my progress in the garage, I found two sets of waterboots – one that will fit either of the twins and an extra pair (since I found the original) for the youngest. It’s amazing what one can find when cleaning and straightening.

Aside from my children trying to grow up too fast, it was a quiet week. So far this one is as well, but who knows what this week will bring.