My oldest will be three in October. Over the past few months he’s turned over many new leaves. I think (I hope) we’re on our way out of the terrible twos and on to an age that will still have its own challenges, but makes it much more easy to reason with him.
Ever since the girls were born and he was forced to walk more, we’ve been working with him on the importance of staying close to mommy and daddy when we get out of the car, and how he needs to hold our hand when we walk through the parking lot or across the street. At first it was a huge struggle and we literally had to grasp onto his wrist to ensure he didn’t go sprinting into moving traffic.
But over the past 17 months he’s grown up. He gets it now. He knows that he’s safest when he’s holding Mommy’s hand. And over time, it’s turned into more than that. Now he wants to hold my hand all the time. I don’t even have to ask him to do it anymore. If I don’t stick my arm out the minute we get out of the car, I hear his sweet little voice ask, “Momma, hold hands?” And my heart melts into a huge puddle.
It doesn’t matter if we’re out and about or walking up the stairs in our house, he wants to hold my hand. It’s comforting and makes him feel secure. There are times when I have one of the girls in each arm and I have to awkwardly give him my wrist to hold onto, but there is no way I’m turning down the opportunity to be the one he wants to cling to.
Every time we’re hand in hand, I can’t help but think about how fleeting those opportunities are, and I squeeze his hand just a little tighter. Soon it won’t be cool to hold mom’s hand anymore. He’ll be on to bigger and better things, and these sweet moments will be memories in my heart.
Moms, I know the days can get long, and our patience is constantly getting tested. If you’re like me, there are nights when you count down the minutes and hours until bed time. But my hope for each of us, is that we’d take the time to embrace those innocent moments with our children, when all they want is to feel secure in our love. May we pause and look deep into their beautiful little eyes and tell them over and over again just how much we love them, and despite how much they make us want to pull our hair out sometimes, may we remember just how blessed we are to be their momma.
As they say, the days are long, but the years are short. Let’s live in the present and savor all the adventures motherhood takes us on.
XOXO,
Amber
P.S. For more reflections on parenthood and life, follow us on Facebook (Hun Let’s Run) and on Instagram: @ambermariekuiper and @jakekuiper! We’d also love for you to subscribe to our Hun, Let’s Run Podcast! For more info about joining our fitness community as a customer or coach, please email us at amber@mommysmetime.com!
4 Comments
We do the “wrist holding” with our 21 month old quite often. She so wants to assert her independence and be a “big girl” and it gives us a run for our money some days. Love reading that yours has finally come around! Another sweet, precious moment to look forward too :-)!
This totally made me tear up… My little guy isn’t quite at the “get it” stage with holding hands in the parking lot and it is a battle constantly. But sometimes when we are sitting at home he says “mama, hand?”, grabs my hand and says “we bess fwens” (we’re best friends). It’s the best. Those are the moments I live for 🙂
Unprompted, my 3 year old fella told me he liked going to the store with me because I was fun. It gave me a smile that lasted all day, even through his “time outs” later that day.
My kiddo loves to hold hands. It really is one of the sweetest things ever. Sometimes when we are driving and he’s a little upset he asks for my hand – it does hurt a bit to get my arm back that far to the car seat but it really calms him down. I know there will be a day he doesn’t want to anymore so I’ll cherish these handholds!