I think we all have the same drawer in our house. We all have had or do have the same drawer and cabinet where we place all the little “kid stuff” . . . the kid bowls, the sippy cups with missing lids, the plates with the dividers to separate food, the tiny forks, the silly straws, and the little spoons to feed little mouths.
We have a silverware drawer in our home and in front of the organized, neatly placed silverware is a spot where all the random little spoons/forks/kid stuff goes. Those little utensils get stuck in the drawer and sometimes it doesn’t shut because one is sticking out. Sometimes one goes rogue and often I get “annoyed” at these little eating utensils.
Just imagine an organized drawer of silver silverware — all that we picked out from our wedding — and in front are every color, size, and shape of mismatching plastic utensils (and 80% of them are the spoons that came home from the ice cream shop).
I mumble under my breath — sometimes not so mumbling — that I can’t wait to get rid of these little things.
And then it happened . . .
My daughter (our youngest, and the last of the little spoon-using children) went into the drawer, completely bypassed the “little spoons” and grabbed the adult, normal-sized, silver spoon for her cereal.
She also made her own cereal that morning and in no way needed me.
I watched her, a little curious, thinking “Ummm WRONG spoon buddy! Don’t you want the little one?”
And then I realized . . .
Your kids grow up.
They stop wanting the little spoon.
They stop NEEDING the little spoon.
They stop NEEDING you.
And like being punched in the gut, when you stop breathing for a second . . .
I got hit with the reality that she is growing and those little spoons,
the little shoes that end up all over the house,
the little toothbrushes that NEVER fit in a normal toothbrush holder,
the little cars that end up at your feet,
the little underwear stuck in their inside-out pants,
the little sippy cups that in no way fit into your cabinet perfectly,
the little bowls with attached straws so they don’t actually sit straight in the cupboard,
the little toys that we yell about that are never cleaned up,
the little books that need to be put away . . .
All of these LITTLE things that we sometimes huff and puff about . . . actually are NOT annoying at all. But they are parts of life and these little things are only needed for a VERY SMALL portion of our kids’ lives.
We take for granted little moments. We move fast in life and stress and worry and instead if we just SLOWED down and appreciated every little bit of this amazing life — this amazing time that we get with our little people . . . Maybe then we could learn to appreciate these little spoons.
Because one day there won’t be a designated kids’ cabinet or drawer. One day there will be a time that I will look in the drawer and wish it was still filled with little spoons.
Slow down, appreciate, and don’t take a single “little spoon” moment for granted.
