Growing Up is Bittersweet

On Monday, I sent AJ off to his first day of First Grade. He confidently donned his backpack full of school supplies and ran (yes, literally RAN) to school. A year of kindergarten taught him to love school….and I love that!

Every day AJ reminds me that he is getting bigger and that I no longer have a baby (or toddler or even pre-schooler) in the house. The signs are everywhere:

He is in school full time – every day!
He dresses himself (and he usually picks things that match!)
He can pour himself a bowl of cereal and milk
He can make himself a “ham and may-nays sam-lich”
He can read!!
He asks very deep questions, like “When I get married, you are going to miss me, because I will have to live with my wife instead of you, right?”

However, there are still plenty of signs that he’s not completely grown up quite yet, and for now I am going to hold on to those things and cherish them, as much as I may want him to “grow out of them.”

He still wears GoodNites® Underwear every night….and they are almost always wet in the morning
I find him in my bed nearly every morning….he still wants to cuddle with mommy!
When I walk him to school, he holds my hand.
I frequently catch him talking “baby talk” at home. Argh!
He is not quite ready to fold his clothes on his own (might as well leave them in a pile!)
He calls me “Mommy”

Although I sometimes get tired of finding his GoodNites® pants wet every morning or hearing him revert to his “baby talk,” I know that pretty soon he will grow out of those things, too. I celebrate his achievements and rejoice when he learns something new, but I also realize that each of these steps – big and small – is leading him away from that little boy that I still want to hold on to.

Someday soon he might not want to cuddle or hold my hand or call me “Mommy” anymore. As much as I won’t miss the baby talk and the bedwetting, I will miss those good things about having a little one.

He’s growing up.

It’s a good thing. But it’s a sad thing, too.

Please note: I am participating in the GoodNites® Blogger Ambassador program and I am compensated for my time. The thoughts and experiences expressed here are my own.

About Lolli

Lolli has written 2212 posts on this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. You can also find me writing at Home Made Simple, Famous Footwear blog and P&G Everyday. *Add my posts to your Google Reader today!*