Pop-tart Crumbs and Soft Warm Kisses

Will the day ever come when my kitchen chairs are not covered with pop-tart crumbs, my floor not sticky from popsicle drips and my sink not full of knives coated with peanut butter? Will I ever not awaken Saturday morning to cartoons on the television? Will the day come when I can rearrange sofa cushions without finding puzzle pieces, pennies and popcorn?
Will I ever again buy cereal because of the cereal, instead of the plastic toy inside the box? Will I ever eat dinner at a restaurant that has cloth napkins, fancy water glasses and cocktail sauce, instead of paper napkins, paper soda cups and little packets of ketchup?
My life has changed so much over the past few years! I wonder sometimes if things will ever return to normal? Will there ever be a bathtub without plastic sailboats and a recurring dirty ring? Will we have a sliding glass door without nose prints and fingerprints? Will I ever fill bookshelves with the book-of-the-month selections instead of broken toys waiting to be glued?
Someday will I open the coat closet and find jackets on hangers instead of sweatshirts and mittens on the floor? Will there ever be a wash day without diapers, and a backyard without jump ropes, toy trucks and tricycles?
I’m really not complaining, but my child-related activities seem endless! Will I ever drive in the car without pointing out every dump truck, crane and bulldozer? Will I ever leave the library with just a historical novel instead of Dr. Seuss books? Someday, will I make a trip to the grocery store without having to buy a box of animal crackers or bubble gum? Will my husband and I ever plan a family vacation without having to work around little league and swimming lessons?
I get so weary of the routines! Will the time come when I don’t have to referee an argument? Will I ever serve fish almandine for dinner instead of fish sticks?
The house is quiet now. They’re all asleep and I welcome the solitude. But, as I think of the pant legs growing short on my boys, and my daughter trading her dolls for a boom-box, I’m suddenly reminded, this is all passing so quickly.
The day will come, too soon, when my husband and I will trim a Christmas tree without the help of little hands. I’ll miss shopping for toys at Christmas.
Many things I’ll miss; such as hearing the first one home from school come in the door calling, “Mom, are you home”? There will be no comic tales of school antics around the dinner table and no one to help bake chocolate chip cookies, or to lick the spoon.
I’ll still take walks, but I’ll no longer have to stop while someone throws pebbles into a puddle. There will be no 5-year-old to point out the beauty of the early evening sky or the first star.
Who will help me plant flowers in the spring? I’ll miss the excited delight of a 3-year-old who marvels over animal pictures in an encyclopedia, or the beauty of a waterfall in a travel brochure.
I’ll miss the squeak of the teeter-totter in the backyard and the mother’s day cards made from construction paper and magic markers.
I’ll miss rocking a baby, and having a small child climb on my lap, wrap his arms around my neck, and say, “You’re my best friend, mommy”. I’ll long for those small bowed heads around the bed for nighttime prayers. I’ll remember a time when I could make a bump on the head feel better with a kiss.
But most of all, when my blessings are grown, I’ll miss getting a soft warm kiss and a sleepy “I love you”.