The Hours are Short Also

I always hear the “the days are long but the years are short” referring to having little kids.  For me right now, the days are short too.  We have the occasionally long hour or two, sometimes in the afternoons between 3 and 4 or 5 and 6, but generally the days are flying.



I go to get Tate out of his crib and he’s rolling everywhere, perpendicular to the sides, laying on his side munching on his hands.  When did he get so big?  Isn’t it still January?  Trent and I contemplated trimming his hair last weekend, but scissors in hand, we couldn’t do it.  His hair is too fabulous to cut right now.



Yesterday Rush picked up a bottle of balsamic vinegar off the counter, removed off the lid, took a swig, then looked at me and said “YUM.”  When I took the bottle away, he went back for more.  He also tried to give his doll a drink of water by sticking her head in the ice/water dispensing part of the refrigerator.  These moments don’t create long days for us, they create trips outside to run and scream off some energy.



I’m starting to wonder what the summer will hold for us, when Rush isn’t going to school and the weather is mind numbingly, body stiflingly, oppressively, dehydratingly hot.  I might look into getting the book 15 Minutes Outside, by a woman who vowed to go outside with her kids at least 15 minutes every day for a year, no matter what the weather.  I don’t need the book for ideas as much as fortification against 100 degree days.  I’m mentally planning out buckets of water and washcloths in the freezer.  Maybe I’ll start freezing containers of water to make big ice cubes for the pool on the porch.

For today though, I’m not worried about the heat. It’s surprisingly cool and we’re heading to the park after naps.  I don’t know how long it takes to shed a corporate job, but it’s apparently longer than two years.  I’m still constantly amazed by the weather and how it affects my day; the weather is meaningless in an office.  Plus I've discovered that I can still hold a long, informed conversation about staplers.  But some parts are fading more quickly.  I know my Excel skills are getting rusty and my brain has totally blocked out the memory of late nights in the office on the second business day of the month, which would be today.  Sitting at my computer talking to an accountant while it became nighttime and the clean crews started working on offices – those days were long.  Days spent with Rush and Tate:  too short!