'Tis the Season

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE KELLYS

I am getting old...well, compared to my children and grandchildren, I am old. As I contemplate the fact that my life is more than half over, and I look back over my past, I realize that this is the time of my life that I like the best. Don't get me wrong, I loved being a "mommy". I loved snuggling with my children or watching them sleep with that angelic glow of youth shining on their tiny, perfect faces. I loved watching them explore the world around them. These things brought me happiness...But those were highly stressful days too.

It was not easy putting those darling little ones to bed because I knew that more-than-likely, they wouldn't stay there long. Bath time for three little girls often resulted in as much water on the floor as in the tub! And then, there came along the youngest child, a boy. Arriving eight to thirteen years after the girls, he was solely to be loved, spoiled and fought over by his sisters! For you expert parents out there, how to you discipline for that?  "You are grounded because you want the 'baby' to sleep with you?" I mean, come on, where is the logic in that?

It was the season where I constantly second-guessed myself. I cried, cussed, and prayed a lot during my children's formative years, trying to figure out the whole mommy-role...but oh...those were the constructive years that led to this...this season of life that I like best!

I am forty-eight. I have a wonderful husband. We have three amazing grown daughters, a fourteen year old son, two pretty special sons-in-law with another on the way, and three amazing grandchildren. Our house is quiet and peaceful on most days, but when all get together it turns into a domestic circus...and I love it! Yes, this is the season of life that I like best.  I know that I made mistakes as a mom, but I see that, somehow, I helped  craft children into incredible young adults. I see where childish bickering helped with problem-solving skills; I see where helping around the house molded responsible adults; I see where sharing the burden of keeping a home running taught them to not give up when the going gets tough. And I realize that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't such a screw-up as a mommy after all.  And with that thought in mind, I can honestly say that I wouldn't want to go back there or change a single thing...because, altogether, the other seasons formed my destiny and brought me to this one.

And oh 'tis the season to be jolly in this season of life that I like best.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours with prayers of peace, joy, and love...lots and lots of love.