Adventure awaits

When I was younger and child-free, I would constantly hear adults talk about how fast their kids were growing, how fast time was flying, how they wished they could slow it all down. It was as though they all shared the same sentiment: that they would blink and suddenly, their children were no longer babies. Instead, they turned into real kids with real feelings and emotions. They turned into teenagers with attitudes, and eventually, they turned into adults who they could talk to and confide in. Despite this very natural progression of life, they always seemed a little heartbroken about it.
As a child hearing this, I would roll my eyes wondering why time wasn’t going by any faster for me. I wanted to be bigger, stronger, more “grown up.” Sure, being a kid had its perks but being an adult was seemingly so much better. There were so many more open doors and opportunities. There just seemed to be more adventure.
Well, in some ways I was right about adulthood: There are so many more things that I can do now that I couldn’t as a kid. That’s obvious. But something I was terribly wrong about was that sense of adventure. There isn’t more adventure as an adult—it’s just a different kind. If anything, there’s so much more wonderment and wide-eyed genuine curiosity as a child. And I can say that one of the best things about being an adult is getting to experience the world through your children.
In my last post, I talked about how fast Akira is growing. Last night, as I was perusing Instagram, a girlfriend of mine who had her son exactly six weeks before Akira was born posted a photo saying her little boy was now 10 months old. Ten months! It seems like I was just texting her the night before she went into labor. And this just means that Akira is right there behind him. I will blink and his first birthday will be here before I know it. It’s bittersweet, truly.
While I absolutely love this stage in his life, I have also caught myself looking forward to having conversations with him. I’m looking forward to him literally running around. I can’t wait to see his imagination spark with his sister and his dad. I’m excited to watch his personality grow alongside his physical development. What will he be like? Will he have a mischievous streak? Will he be just as sweet as can be? Even though he’s younger, will he feel an innate need to protect and defend his sister or will he try to compete with her because she’s older and more experienced?
There is still so much that he will go through in life, and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it. I feel honored to be his mother and to be the person in his life who gets to watch him make mistakes and learn from them, flourish in his experiences and be as wild and adventurous as his heart desires.