One small step for everyone else...

It's amazing what little things may become triumphs in the lives of kids and parents.

I mean, the first time your baby sleeps through the night is cause for a freaking house party. First solids, sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, potty-training...even non-parents understand and ask about these things at the proverbial water cooler.

But as your children grow, you begin to feel self-congratulatory for the most ridiculous things. And when you talk about them, other people probably look at you like you're a bit insane.

For instance, today my mom and I celebrated because E made it one entire day without throwing a hissy fit or whining or crying. A whole day. Now, those lucky/unlucky individuals among you who have never spent an entire day with a very spoiled, high-tempered, stubborn small child may not understand how blissful or terrible that one day can be. And today was blissful. No crying when nap/bed time came around. No screaming when we left the mall. No whining for cookies. (And before you judge, yes, he does get into trouble if he does these things. I have to be rather strict to offset my parents' shameless spoiling of him. But I'd rather he just didn't misbehave at all, so I didn't have to discipline him...) E was, literally, the perfect child. But people who don't have Mini-Me's running around (and even some who do) generally think, "That's how children should always be, you must be doing something wrong." Don't deny it, I used to think the same things.

And the very first flossing session E ever endured deserved a late-night call to Nanay so that she could share in our collective pride. He solemnly informed her that because he is now 4 (and NOT 3), he can hold still long enough for his teeth to be flossed. After all, "10 year old boys can do it, so 4 year old boys can too. But 2 and 3 year olds can NOT because they're babies." I mean, seriously, flossing is not something that anyone but your dentist truly cares about.

But these little things are so important because they still mark the passing of time for us. They are signs that our children won't always be small, that they're growing and changing right in front of our eyes. They're reminders that we should take the time to appreciate what is happening in this moment, despite the temper tantrums and bed-wetting that make us secretly wish our children were older. Because someday they will no longer call to us to come see that they put their socks on correctly or they made their beds. Days will be shorter, time will pass more quickly, and the things we celebrate will be so much bigger. And we will miss those small triumphs, because they were at the beginning...

Now, if only E and I can start having the sort of triumph that involves him staying in his own bed all night.