Be the “Yes!” Mom!
Halloween 2015 has come and gone. I have been reflecting on what has changed. I no longer have much input on their costumes. They don’t really need me to hold their hands while trick or treating. They want to invite friends along and tell us we can stay behind and watch the World Series. Times have changed.
My children aren’t wearing their costumes today – the day after Halloween. They no longer insist on wearing them to the grocery store, or to church, or to a party at Easter time. They no longer want to wear them to dinner when we are having spaghetti or outside playing in the rain. They are folded neatly and put away. Some of them went back to the costume shop today.
The older my kids get, the more I miss the “littles”.
Now, my youngest is 7 and my oldest is 14, so in some peoples minds, they are still little. But I am talking about the squishy cheek-weeks, over-managed months and diaper days that go by way too quickly. People used to say “Enjoy these days with your little ones, they will be gone before you know it”. I actually think I couldn’t believe it back then because the. days. are. so. long.
I was the kind of mom who insisted on wearing costumes only when it was appropriate. I wish now I hadn’t. Today, I would love to see Princess Grace at church, Robin Hood at the grocery store and Princess Leah at an Easter party. I would be happy to wash marinara sauce or mud off any costume now. But those days have passed.
Are you an uptight mom who wants them to dress just right?
“Oh honey, that costume is good for Halloween or around the house, but not for church”. Maybe matching perfect clothes for an outing and hair combed just right? “Sweetie, I love that Batman costume, but I just don’t think it is right for Aunt Sharon’s Easter feast”.
I know, me too.
So I am here today to encourage you to let them DO IT! Crazy, right? I wish I had let them live out their fairy tales and I wish I could have taken pictures. I have too many perfectly-dressed, hair-just-right photos. Let them wear their princess dresses and cowboy outfits because some day they will not want to anymore.
Take it from me. Your time with them is short and the moments when they want to be adventurers, explorers and royalty for a day will come to an end.
Just say “Yes!”
~Jeanna Young
When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!
