The Golden Years

I remember when I first became a mom and was drowning in tiredness and confusion, I saw a mom talking about how wonderful life was now that her children were “of a certain age”. I wondered, what are these ages and when will this happen for me?

Turns out, it’s different for everyone. But, for us, the golden years started when my youngest turned five.

Now, I realize some people absolutely love the newborn phase, or those squishy toddlers.  However, the independence of a five-year-old has made a world of difference in my day-to-day life. For me, the golden years means:

• Having time to work – Both kids are in school, at the SAME school, with the SAME schedule. This allows me to give up the working mom guilt. I still have some but definitely not as much as before.
• Independence – My kids are a little independent! Yay! They’re not completely independent, but they can get themselves dressed, brush their teeth, get a snack, put on their own shoes. It’s pretty awesome.
• Conversations – My kids are becoming their own people and I love having conversations with them. The weird things that pop into their head and come out of their mouths are pretty fun. And oftentimes, hilarious!
• Vacations – You guys, vacations are fun now. They used to be me doing all the things, but in a different location. Now, we can actually vacation. My kids can swim really well so pool time is fun. They don’t need 500 items every time we go to a restaurant. It’s glorious.
• Activities – I know, activities can be super stressful. But I am SO happy to no longer be in the mommy and me activity phase. I remember when my son was in mommy and me gymnastics. While we had our time, there was another older group also doing gymnastics. But they weren’t with their parents. Their parents were sitting up in the bleachers, reading books, and checking their phones. I remember looking up at them thinking….when will that be me? The answer is now! I love watching my boys do all of their activities and I am so thankful I can be a spectator. 
• Movies, Shows, and more! – We are a big movie and television family. My husband is a TV and film editor and I am a huge theater person so we love the art of storytelling and so do our kids. Now that they’re older we can watch a lot of shows and movies together. No longer must we watch some of the most annoying children’s television shows. 

I can honestly say, we’ve hit the sweet spot and I also am afraid of when the sweetness turns sour, hello preteen! So, right now I am going to bask in the golden years for as long as I can.