Three's the new fifteen.

Spiderman.  Need I say more?
(THANK YOU GRAMMY AND  PAPA!)

My little boy turned three on the 13th.  I suppose this is where I say, "Where has time gone?"  Maybe it's just me, but my foot-loose and fancy free days feel like light years away.  These three years (well, almost four if you count pregnancy) have been a roller coaster ride of excitement, fear, success, failure, joy, and frustration. As I reflect, all I can think about is how exhausting it is to be a parent.  Sure, it's all worth it, and blah, blah, blah, but really, it would be much easier as a part-time job (actually many days I wish it were just volunteer work, so I could up and leave...).

We watch children morph before our eyes as they grow and think, "Wow, he's changed so much.  I swear he looks older than yesterday!"  I would argue that we develop just as rapidly and significantly as they do.  They change our perspective, intuition, actions, feelings and more.  For example, I worked in adoption and foster care, but until being a parent never fully understood why these parents fight so fiercely on behalf of their children.  Now, I think they're not fighting hard enough.  Jimmy admits being more critical and concerned when one of his "client's" unlawful behavior affects a child.  He's hugged and supported parents and children who needed him while on the job, when he would have otherwise been callous.   Parenting Ashton, followed by Reagan, has made us better people. We're more tolerant, giving, and patient.  We're happy and fulfilled.

Ashton taught us to live every day, reminding us to see the beauty and wonder in the world.  Nothing about these three years has been fast, thank God for that.

Off to daycare!