Ten Is…

@kyleniego

One of my favorite things about our blog is that it has also become a space where we get to document big moments like milestone birthdays. One day, my kids will hop onto The Sister Project while they are getting Ubered around in a flying car. I hope when they read these pieces, they recognize the great pride I took in raising them.

From the moment your kids are born you hear the phrase “Enjoy it, time flies”, on repeat.

You hear the words, but until you actually birth the child or two (for some at the same time), you don’t quite grasp the magnitude of that statement. I blinked and my kids turned ten. It absolutely felt like time was moving at a snail’s pace when they were wobbly-headed, milk guzzling, life-sucking monsters. But, like a rocket, ten years have passed and I find myself in a phase of parenthood that I kind of love.

Ten is awesome and ten is also fleeting.

Someone recently referred to this phase of parenting and ten as the ‘sweet spot of parenting‘. That is the perfect way to describe what ten feels like from a parent’s perspective. Ten still has an innocence about it. It is this small, sweet window of time before your baby isn’t a baby anymore.Ten is happy, honest, and untainted. Ten has no worries but still worries about you. I know the next phase, which might not be so sweet, is near, but for now, I will enjoy every bit of ten. Ten is awesome.

Ten is…

Still young enough to snuggle in bed with mom and dad, but the bed is shrinking so they don’t overstay their welcome.

Sending a preprogrammed ‘i love you’ from their Gizmo for no reason and not caring that it isn’t an Apple Watch.

Old enough to stay home alone for just a bit and still young enough to know that what they do while you are gone is normal kid stuff like playing with dolls and nerf guns.

Not afraid to try new foods and delicious things to eat.

Afraid of monsters and still desperate to believe in the magic of Christmas even though they know the truth.

Is obsessed with recycling and saving their planet.

Not afraid to show their love with a hug or a kiss. Always at home, sometimes in public.

Still vying for your attention.

Understands reason and listens…sometimes.

Still game for hanging with family on their birthday.

So that’s exactly what we are going to do. We will selfishly spend their special day with them and only them. Dinner at their favorite Greek restaurant and then to Pinstripes for some fun. Bottling it all up. Living in the moment. Ten is…awesome!

Happy Birthday Will and Mia! 

Love you so much it hurts.

Mom