Short Years

Someone...I have no idea who, and a Google Search is not revealing much...wisely said that motherhood is composed of long days and short years. I'm feeling the truth of that one lately, as some of our days have been "pleasesweetJesusletitbebedtime" long but I also feel an almost daily sense of "how did you get so big so fast?" tugging at my heartstrings.

Part of that feeling stems from the time of year. Another year of residency is drawing to a close, and we are preparing to say goodbye to the fifth years. And this year, for the first time, we have friends that are leaving. As they leave, we are all too aware that our own time here is flying past with lightning speed and soon enough, we will be the ones saying goodbye to our dear friends and heading wherever the Powers that Be in the Air Force send us.

That's very exciting, don't get me wrong. But it instills a deep desire in me to be with these friends as much as we can be before it all changes again. And I know they feel the same way because we've talked it out. So now we're basically attached at the hip(s) and believe me, our kiddos are not complaining. They love spending time together.

Addie, Riley, and Calum (Asher had already left by the time I got my camera out)

Fun on the slide. The kids actually shared really nicely

Calum is a little bit of a ham. I wish Addie liked the camera this much.

Looking for a four leaf clover?

The Ri guy

C-lo

Good friends. Love the chocolate stains on Addie's mouth!

We are seeing the Brogan boys quite a bit more than anyone else, as they stay with us while Jen works a few shifts here and there. It's a lot of fun to see how Addie and Calum have gone from playing beside each other to tussling with each other like puppies. And I'm so excited to see Graydon and James go through the same process. Right now they notice one another occasionally but mainly they have eyes only for the bigger kids and the dogs. And believe me, the bigger kids are usually putting on quite a show.

America's Next Top Model. This is after a bath that was MUCH needed after the kids discovered some potting soil.

I asked them to hug each other. That quickly turned into a serious wrestling match.

Calum is making the move

The initial "hug"

aka "tackle"

Like I said...

They tussle like puppies...

And they love every second of it

The boys come fairly early in the morning (pre 7 AM) and James usually likes to sack back out

Calum is waiting for Addie to get up and watching Elmo. He's kind of a fan.

James is clearly horrified by my morning appearance. Graydon is used to it.

They wanted to pretend to be babies like Grady and James. So they climbed in the crib and each wanted a blanket and a friend.

The crazy thing is that we'll move away while the kiddos are still so young. They won't really recall these days and how much fun they had together...except that they will because we are recording these moments in photos and blogs and videos.

You know how you know all your best friends' stories? You've heard the story so many times that you can tell it and it sort of feels like you remember it even though you weren't actually there...like it becomes one of your stories by virtue of how much time you spend together? I think that is how our kidlets will feel about their Rochester days. They won't truly remember much, but they'll think they remember it all because they'll see the pictures and hear the stories so often. And that makes me happy.

And it probably means that you'll see a lot of this kind of thing on the blog. Because we Mamas are big into cherishing each other's company as the years speed past. And I just can't wait to see how the kids continue to grow as individuals and as friends.

(And I really really love the fact that every single time someone comes to our door, Addie immediately yells "Come in, friends!" ...even if it is just the UPS guy!)