Since Mary Hannah and Mathaus have left for school, a funny thing has happened— John Mark and Birdie have grown up.
Not really. They’re still 11 and 8. (“Almost 9!” she’ll eagerly tell you, “Just a few more weeks!”) But somehow, having a few less adult-sized people filling the room in the evening has made space for these up-and-comers to spread out a bit more, to engage, and to have my full attention.
As always, there’s give and take in life. Every benefit has a cost. The good here is time with these growing-up-t00-fast kiddos who aren’t tiny ones anymore and will be college age themselves before I know it. The bad is that when I look to share these revelations with their older siblings, well… they’re not here anymore.
I have depressingly few friends who understand this new season of life I find myself in; there are few of us Straddle Parents in the trenches. Most of my friends have either sent all of their children into college and beyond, are parenting kids exclusively in their late teens through mid-20s, or have younger ones altogether and haven’t hit the “family divided” phase that adulthood brings with it at all just yet.
Still, I can’t imagine I’m alone in marveling at the new perspective that comes with having the median age of the household dropped, even if only by a few years. The past two nights have seen not Exploding Kittens and Scythe, but Stomple and Word A Round. I’ve watched my 6th and 7th children bask in the glow of responsibility newly handed over (“I get to sweep after dinner? Really?”) and rise to the occasion of being “one of the bigs.” I’ve loved pulling these two aside before bedtime a little longer than usual and just laughing, talking, and sharing a few of those moments I know I’ll look back on with the same happy sigh I have when I recall doing the same with the two who are now in college.
It’s a whole new world over here. For me, and for them. And while there are definitely wistful moments, the Lord is giving me so much appreciation for the abundance of this season. My littles are getting big. And it’s a beautiful thing!