Monday 24 October 2011

This too shall pass...

It is the Multiple Birth Club Annual Garage Sale on Saturday, and for the first time in almost four years I have taken up the courage to get a table to sell some stuff myself.  It would be really great, I reasoned, to get rid of all the old things lying around, baby clothes, things we will never use again that just mess up the house (the house would still be a tip regardless, but my reasoning was sound).


So I set out to purge the place of all unnecessary paraphernalia.  In a self-righteous fervour, I started with the boys' old clothes.  I got as far as the old baby-grows, the ones with the little feet attached, and there I stopped.  Things I thought would be so easy to get rid of suddenly seemed like precious memories that I was heartlessly throwing away.  It seems like only yesterday that my two were in those tiny outfits, all snuggled and sweet-smelling, ready for bed (note I say bed and not sleep - they never actually slept).  Now I look at these two little men, all grown up now, with their long limbs and complex expressions, their hands that no longer have baby dimples, and sometimes I feel like they are strangers to me.  Wonderful, perfect human beings, who I have to get to know from the start again.  Are they still the little ones I held close to me in the start of their lives?  


I once heard an expression:  "This too shall pass".  At the time, I thought it must be an expression of hope, an exhortation to a struggling soul that the dark patch through which they were going would still be over.  Yet now, I think of it in a different way.  I see it not only as an encouragement, but also as a warning:  this time will pass.  And when the precious moments of holding and loving your tiny babies are gone, they are gone forever, and you can no more fill those abandoned baby-grows with their little warm bodies again than fly to the moon.


The other periods in life are just as special, each for its own reason.  I am loving the intricacies of life with my boys as they grow and develop.  I guess what I am trying to say is this: make the most of the time you have.  It may seem difficult, with crying babies, not enough sleep, loneliness, and what seems like precious little to motivate you to carry on.  But in those times, find the joys, no matter how small, and store them up in your heart for the times ahead.  I guarantee that one day, you too will be sitting, looking at a small piece of clothing that your child once wore, and aching to be able to hold that little baby to your chest once again.  And at that time, knowing that you made the most of each precious second, might just be enough to sustain you.


To life! And to living every moment!


I would love to hear from you all - let me know about your precious memories.  Click on the "Post a Comment" button and add your views.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Kerry - my twin girls are only four months old, but your post reminds me how time will go by all too fast!

    ReplyDelete
  2. People always told me that it would, but I don't think I really believed it! Now, I can't really even remember the times they were babies - how sad!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Isn't it the most beautiful and amazeing experience ever having baby/ies in your life! everyday my little ones seem to do something new. Just today they began babblling away to each other for the first time like they have just discovered each other and want to tell each other everything there is about themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How lovely! I really love that stage when they start interacting like that.

    ReplyDelete