Stop and smell the roses

Yes.  Please do.
If it's not roses, then stop and take a deep breath over your baby's head.
Because everything happens just too fast and sometimes we need that reminder to stop, slow down and take a moment to enjoy being in the present.

I think we need this reminder every so often.
Life is busy.  Hectic.  Frantic.  It doesn't really have to be.

A friend of mine gave birth to a new baby last week.  She's living oh, so far away so I will not get the chance to stop by with a meal and steal a newborn snuggle.  I loved seeing the photos she and her husband have taken.  You know the ones I'm talking about?  Big sister holding new baby brother.  Mom juggling the two-kid snuggle in the hospital bed.   New babe all swaddled and sleeping soundly.  I saw those pictures and was suddenly so very wistful. My munchkins are BIG now.  My first-born will soon be 7 years old.  My middle child will be 5.  My baby?  He's 2!!  No new babies here any more.  That's okay in lots of ways.  I don't miss the round the clock feeding schedule.  The sleepless nights were painful.   The spit-up on my clothes was stinky.  But I do miss that sweet new baby smell.  There is nothing quite like it.  I wish I could have bottled that smell up and kept it forever.  Is that strange?  I think it would be a great form of aromatherapy- of stress relief.  Feeling overwhelmed?  Open bottle and sniff "new baby" smell.  Instant relaxation!!

I know this all seems random.  I think I just wanted
to get some words down to express how I feel about the passing of time these days.  It seems to be slipping through my fingers rather quickly and that is most observable to me when I look at my kids.  They are growing, thriving, blooming at break-neck speed.  It's exciting, scary and sometimes a little bit sad.

So today, I will try to stop and smell those roses.  Because tomorrow they will be too tall for me to reach!