He stands a foot taller than me now but it does not matter how tall he is when he gives me a hug he still feels like my little boy.

Three of the bedrooms in my home no longer have children living in them. The room I write this from has now been converted to an office but stickers which are reminders of the boy who used to live in this room still hang on the closet door.  Is that normal for a mom to redecorate a room and not be able to bear taking down stickers from days gone by?   If I have my way they will stay here stuck to the closet doors among my fresh paint and new furniture forever.

To most people they probably look like a bunch of old ratty pieces of paper that need to be taken down and thrown away.  But from these mother eyes of mine I see smiley faces from good grades on school papers and a little boy who loved sports.  I see a little red headed boy of about 10 years old running down a football field for a touch down with a bunch of kids chasing him.  I see me cheering as he crosses the line getting tackled to the ground when he should have been safe from getting tackled.  I see myself holding my breath hoping to see him pop up from the ground unhurt.  I still see his little face smiling in joy to have made a touchdown.  I see a big number 10 sticker which is from the football helmet of the high school boy he became.

Not only do I have a son but I also have two daughters who are all grown up now too.  There once was a time our life included cabbage patch dolls, dance recitals and slumber parties.  There were first dates and always a tiny … make that a LARGE bit of drama to excite our days.

Those days are long gone now. We no longer have teenage girls hogging the phone or music blasting from down the hall. No longer do we fall over shoes and cloths left scattered all over the house.  Rooms do not get messy anymore.  Gone are the days of waiting up until midnight to make sure my teenager’s car pulled safely into the driveway.

When I get up in the morning I no longer have crumbs on the kitchen table from midnight snacks created by hungry teens. I would have never believed I would miss waking up to that mess one day.

The future that lives today never crossed my mind in the past of yesterday.  I never looked ahead to see that one day my kids would grow up though they were growing up right before my eyes.

Today when my son came for a visit he made himself a sandwich and a glass of milk.  When he went home I saw his crumbs and empty milk glass sitting on the table.  It brought back memories of those days of what seem like just yesterday of the messes he used to leave behind.  Today it brought joy to my heart to have his mess right there on my kitchen table again.  I did not want to clean up the mess he left this time for a whole new reason.   I wanted to just sit and look at if for a while and cherish the memories of my babies who are all grown up now.

I also wanted to thank God for allowing me to have them to live in my home for what seems now like such a short time.  Thank him for the joy they still all bring me as adults along with the new families of their own they have added to our family.

Before my son left today he gave me a wonderful hug and then he was off into his grown up world never knowing that though he is grown now in my world he is still my little boy.