I was thinking recently about how our family has shifted and adapted, and slowly found a new rhythm as a family of six. If there is one thing I have learned by now, it is that babies grow up quickly - and each subsequent child seems to grow up twice as fast as the last. I think back to when I had just one baby. Time ticked on, but in an almost beautifully slow manner. By the time my first was six months old, I was ready for another one! And while we did want to space our children rather close together, after we had our second, I realized that we didn't need to be in quite such a rush. I wanted to be able to enjoy each baby. So, the first were a year and a half apart, and then, thanks to my body doing a natural spacing, a bit further apart, the spacing between the second and third was 28 months. We had three babies before the first one turned four years old. And LOVED it! 28 months later...here came our fourth. And we are LOVING it! I will admit, though, that the transition to four has been slightly more tricky than previous. It has nothing to do with the baby himself - he is the happiest, easiest going little babe around (and cute, too!) It's more that the first started kindergarten this year, and so now we have to work around a school schedule. The paradox about me - is that I am very well organized (think "type A", in that respect), yet thrive from living rhythmically rather than by a strict routine (think more laid back, "type B", apparently, somehow, the two can coexist!). Well, this year is the year our rhythm found a bit more routine - though I did leave it all quite open-ended. For the first time, I had to wake my kids up in the morning - all four - and get them out the door to drop our kindergartener off at school. And in the afternoon, I had to wake one or two up from napping to go pick him up. Or, one or two (sometimes even three!) would fall asleep in the car while we were waiting in the line to pick him up from school. So, that was new. It went quite smoothly, but it was different. And the days just flew right on by. Here we are now, school just about to be out, and we get to live by rhythm alone for the next couple of months. I am now actually okay with a little bit of routine, but am still most comfortable when routine and rhythm merge into something a bit more organic - a place where some things are firmly set in place, while others are yet very flexible. With several little people constantly growing, changing, and in flux as they learn, develop, and bloom, that is what works best for us. We choose very intentionally not to be involved in much of anything during these little years. We say "no" to a lot of outside activities so to say "yes" to have the time we need to create an environment of peace, calm - and fun! for our little ones at home. There is a time for everything, is there not? And this precious time when my children are so little, I choose to devote to them - not to living our lives from one activity or obligation to the next. It is certainly not popular to live like we do. Our kids are not yet involved in music, sports, or dance lessons. Yet - they are in their own way. We have dance parties in the living room, sing together - hey, Daddy has his guitar and Mama has her ukelele, too. We play soccer in the back yard. We put in lots of time hiking. Our son may not know how to throw a football, but he knows how to pitch a tent. Our little girls may not know all of the six positions of the practice of ballet - but they know their yoga poses, and they know how to twirl around the house, dancing in their perfectly wonderful world of imagination. Truthfully, we can't afford to sign our kids up for everything, either. However, even if we could - at this time, we would choose not to. The time will come when they all aren't so little anymore, and they will each have to make careful decisions about where they want to invest our money and their time. But for now - our rhythm is sweet and very simple. It is so very lovely. My hands are surely full - it is a different kind of busy - but I love it so very much. I have noticed, though, that I have not taken nearly as many pictures of our handsome baby, our fourth child. I blame Instagram for part of that ;) So, as he enters his seventh month with us here earth side, I took a moment one morning and crawled after him and caught a few of our Hudson Jude. Our fourth baby. Our second boy. He is just such a joy - such a blessing to our family. My heart just explodes every time I see his cherubic face and happy smile. This image is my favorite from the handful I took the other morning. Four kids is so fun. Certainly, there are moments of chaos, but likewise, there are certainly moments of all the best stuff - which moments make it all worth it. The first few months I let things slide left and right as we straddled that place between rhythm vs routine - and finally found a happy middle ground...for now. I think part of the beauty of life is how the world keeps spinning, time keeps ticking, drums keep drumming, people keep dancing, babies keep growing...and we all keep changing, adapting, and evolving. All with the hope of gaining wisdom and experiences that will ultimately generate more love and gratitude for the gifts we are given. Oh, and we are given so very many. I'm deeply grateful and humbled to have this life to live, and to love. It's all a process and I have a ton to learn - but little by little, yes - little by little, I will learn. I feel so very blessed to have, among others, four of the best teachers around. I may have been custom made to be their best mama - but they were also custom made to be my best little teachers, and friends. Oh, how I love them so!
No comments:
Post a Comment