Childhood is a Slow Food Process By Jane Danner

Childhood is a Slow Food Process
By Miss Jane

A wise man on the bus once said, “Enjoy this!” and he gestured towards the crabby toddler on my hip, the diaper bag slung over my shoulder. And there was even a nod towards my bulging pregnant belly. I smiled at him as if he were mad but he continued with the words I shall never forget, “The days are long but the years are short. It is over before you know it!” And then he gave me an encouraging little pat on my arm and was gone.

Those days were indeed long. There were endless sleepless nights with fevers and coughs and night terrors and growing pains and ear aches. Rummaging through the medicine cabinet at 2:00 in the morning looking for something to alleviate the current discomfort, when mostly what they needed was a warm calm presence nearby to reassure. The days were filled with changing diapers and laundry and snacks and days at the beach and evenings at the park and a house full of toys and play and a feeling that time had stopped for me but was rushing past me in the real world. It was a long slow process as the children learned to roll over and sit up and walk and then talk and talk and talk. 

And it all sped up just a little bit when they started school. Suddenly, the picture books were gone and they were reading to themselves. I was helping them learn their letters and numbers and then suddenly, I wasn’t as they speed past me to learning stuff all on their own. I wasn’t taking them to the park anymore or the beach, they were taking me, as designated driver, to swim meets and soccer games and horseback riding and just as suddenly they didn’t need me for that either, just the keys to the car and they were taking themselves. And life was a little bit faster. And then suddenly I was dropping them off to college and showing up to their graduation. And life was suddenly a little bit faster. And now I am at this place, waiting in the middle of the night to hear about the birth of my next grandson, still a mom but at a respectful distance and indeed as it begins again, it was over before I knew it. And suddenly the world has slowed down again. And I am not quite sure when that happened either.

The point? This time at LifeWays is the slowest time of childhood, a truly magical time. A time to be savored. School days are coming fast and furious but for now let the children play. Enjoy! It is over before you know it.