Cherished (5 minute prompt)

Cherished

Everyone says cherish the time with your little kids. Remember these days. Soak them up, because they will pass so quickly that you will look back and wonder where the time went.  Here is my opinion on these words of wisdom:

I won't cherish the fighting, the mean words, the crying fits and tantrums...

But I will cherish the hugs, kisses (sometimes a little too wet for my liking) and snuggles.

I won't cherish the all night puke a thons, runny green noses or continual doctor visits.....

But I will cherish the chubby little hands, the sparkling eyes full of love and the little wet footprints running across the pavement on a summer's day.

I won't cherish the giant messes of toys, books, papers, clothes, shoes, puzzles, and every other thing that children love.

But I will cherish the games we have played, the crafts we have made, the books we have read and the projects we have done.

I won't cherish the early morning wake ups, sometimes before the sun wakes up.

But I will cherish the chilly morning snuggles, the "mom, scoot over so I can lay in bed", the bedhead and the love.

I will cherish these children.  Their faults and their qualities and their adventures and their accomplishments.  I will be their biggest champion.  I will cherish all that they are now and all that they will become.  Because mothering doesn't end when the children grow older and leave the house.  Mothering will continue throughout life.  My kids will always need me.  They will need me in different ways, but they will need me.  I will mother my grandchildren.  I will babysit. I will hug. I will hold and play and hope to give them everything I missed with my own children.  I will cherish these grandbabies because they will be a shadow of my own sweet children.  And I am sure I will see my children in my grandchildren and remember a time back when.  Back when life was different.  When I was an exhausted mom and wife and sometimes showers happened and sometimes they didn't and dinner wasn't fancy and life was busier than I thought I could handle.  But I will have my cherished memories and those will never leave me.  My children will move on, but my memories will remain.