Who's a little teapot?

Erin and I went to the park today with a couple of friends. On previous visits to the park she has shown minimal interest, she would entertain a short go on the swing, and that was it. Today she was happy to swing for ages, I then put on her reins so she could toddle freely, she climbed up and down the climbing frame ramps, went through and under anything she could go through and under (dragging me with her), tried on several occasions to climb up the slide, and on even more occasions lifted her arms to be put at the top of the slide and squeeled with glee as she went hurtling down.

It occurred to me amidst all the fun, how slow and fast each phase goes. Let me explain. When she wasn’t walking it seemed like we were at the cruising phase for ages, now that all of a sudden she is fully mobile and asserting her independence the cruising phase seemed so short and is now a dim and distant memory, never to be experienced again.

And there it is, the bit that strikes a big dart of sadness into a parent’s heart - never to be experienced again. Once its gone, it’s gone forever. You can’t bring the baby cuddles back, the first smile, the happy to sit still bit, the weaning, the learning to walk… when the phase seems long and neverending remember that the phase will be over sooner than you think and you won’t be looking back remembering the difficult bits, you’ll only remember the good bits and wish that you can experience each happy moment just one more time, and you can’t.

It’s always just a phase, enjoy it while you can, because tomorrow it’s gone forever.