Best stage of parenting (so far)

I looked around the dinner table the other night and decided that this might be the very best stage of parenting.*  It’s certainly much better than it was the first decade or so, when it was mostly just a sleep-deprived haze of cleaning up messes and feeding small mouths.

 

Everyone now is potty trained (in theory anyway), and can get him- or herself dressed.  Everyone -- and this is key --knows how to wash his or her own hands.  We can get out the door in less than 10 minutes if we need to.  I love all of this independence!

The older kids are even actually quite helpful, whether babysitting, helping with chores, or even cooking:

The kids all love to be together and laugh together and make up games together.  In fact, right after I took the above picture, this is what happened next:

We have plenty of spontaneous hugs.  We also have plenty of spontaneous blow-ups and spontaneous “time-outs.”  But all of the soft, chubby-skinned hugs make it all worth it.

Yes, our garage looks like this...

... and, there is often an orchestral percussion section made up of pantry items all over the kitchen floor...

...But, I wouldn’t trade these days for any others.

  Our house is full of clutter and plastic toys, the soundtrack of our home is loud and chaotic, and our moments together are full of all kinds of emotions.  This is what I remember from my own childhood, and I love that life has now come full circle.

* I hear that some parents enjoy the teen-age years even more, so maybe it just keeps getting better from here!