Thank you to PlaytexBaby for sponsoring today’s post!

I try my hardest to take our kids out to lunch or dinner a few times a month because I truly feel the only way they’ll know how to behave in public at a restaurant is to expose them to it. My mom usually visits the kids once a week, and we try our best to head out to lunch that day (grilled cheese and french fries for all! Except me). We have one little spot in our town that we love going to because it’s quiet and they love my kids. They have high chairs, crayons, toys, and are welcoming with open arms regardless of how my kids act that day (and honestly, they’re always perfect. I’ve yet to have a restaurant meltdown). I really feel it’s great exposure and teaches them to go with the flow of things. And they really enjoy the scenery change!

This one particular day, two older ladies came in for lunch as we were just getting our food. If you know anything about old ladies, it’s that they LOVE little kids. They immediately said “Hi,” asked their ages, and began chatting away with Landon about trains and commented on how adorable Noelle was sitting in her high chair. And of course, they gave me the typical, “Enjoy it now because it goes by so fast!” comment that I always get whenever someone comments on our kids. Usually, this comment annoys the heck out of me because of the redundancy. But that day, it was different. 

I love chatting with elderly men and women because I love the advice and insight they can provide me with. As I sat there, I listened to one of the women telling me just how badly she missed being a young mom. She had two children, and said she wished she had at least one more. She poured her heart out to me, saying she can’t believe just how fast the years went by. I listened to her words and could tell just how deeply she meant it when she said, “it goes by so fast.” The other woman echoed her thoughts, saying they look at themselves and don’t know where the time went. They felt like it was just yesterday that they were me juggling their little kids and feeling all of the typical overwhelming feelings we moms feel. And that they would go back to it in a heartbeat if they could.

Hearing them pour their thoughts out to me, a complete stranger, really gave me a different look on things. I sat there thinking about how my son is already almost 4 and my daughter is turning 2, and I feel like it was just yesterday that I was pregnant with our first. I thought about how I’m turning 31 this year and it feels like just yesterday that I was 23 and newly married. I thought about how it feels like not too long ago that I was living at my mom’s house crying over my first break up with a boy. And I really don’t know where all that time went.

Then I thought about how I had just been complaining to my husband about Landon’s three-anger attitude and how Noelle made a huge mess of the house. I thought about how I get frustrated when things don’t go how I want them to go because life is truly unpredictable with little kids. I thought about all of the complaining I did that week as I sat there listening to these two women talk about their amazing memories of motherhood. And it gave me new insight.

Listen, motherhood is hard. We all know that, right? We get frustrated. We feel like we have no control. We feel like it’s a losing battle. We feel like we have no idea what we’re doing, but we just want to raise GOOD kids who will be helpful and thrive in society. But we aren’t going to remember those bad days. No, those will be almost nonexistent when we get older. 

We’ll remember the look on their faces when we walk in from a day at work. We’ll remember when they say, “I love you mommy” for the first time. We’ll remember the hugs, the kisses, the hand holding, the so desperately needing us as their lifeline because we are their parents, their safe place, and their HOME. It won’t matter that they gave us a hard time or wouldn’t eat their dinner. Because life REALLY does go by fast, and someday they won’t be here to argue over dinner.

(Photos by Victoria Gloria)

For once, that phrase, “it goes by so fast,” didn’t bother me. Because they’re right. And I’ve been trying to remind myself of that every time I’ve gotten frustrated since that day in the restaurant. 

In these photos, we are using PlaytexBaby’s Mealtime Plates and Utensils! I love that the fork and spoon are perfect for little hands (Noelle is BIG on feeding herself!), and that the bowls and plates are lightweight and easy to grip. Noelle has been wanting her own plate lately (aaaaaaand usually dumping it all over the place), and I like that these are small enough to fit on her tray. I love that the entire Mealtime kit comes with a plate, a bowl, utensils, and a cute Stage 3 Sippy Cup. I can always count on PlaytexBaby products #ForBetterBeginnings as a #PlaytexMom. I’m all about using brands I can trust! You can purchase the Mealtime Plates and Utensils on Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and BabiesRUs.com.