Someday

"Someday my prince will come," sings Snow White {in that annoyingly shrill, high pitched voice} as she {looking to be about 12 years old} cooks and cleans and waits for her prince {who is clearly also no older than 12} to come and sweep her off to her real, romantic life.

As a mother with young children, I also spend a lot of time daydreaming about "Someday," only mine is a bit less "Someday my prince will come" and lot more "Someday my house will stay clean." Someday I will be forever done with changing diapers. Someday I will get to go to the bathroom by myself. Someday I sit down on a peanut-butter free couch. Someday I will dress nicely again and be able to leave the house without worrying about what's happening while I am gone. Someday I will have regular dates with my husband where the romance isn't dampened by being home in time to put the kids to bed. Someday I might even go back and get my master's degree, or teach drama again.

Some of my "Somedays" involve less long term goals. Someday this child will potty-train. Or that one will learn to read. Or the baby will be less clingy. {Or I will fit into that pair of jeans again!} Someday the kids will be able to do their own laundry and dishes and be more help than hindrance with the chores. Someday they'll put themselves to bed on time without 6 songs, 2 prayers, 8 rounds of hugs and kisses,3 glasses of water, and a partridge in a pear tree.

But then all these "Somedays" got me thinking about other Somedays that will also be true.
Someday Gabriella will stop crawling into bed with her brothers and "snuggling up" to them because she doesn't want to sleep alone. Someday James will stop grabbing hold of me and insisting "I want to sit your lap." Someday very soon Joseph will be too big to physically even FIT in my lap, let alone have me pick him up, and he will stop telling me every little thing that pops into his head, even if it's "I love you more than anyone else in the WHOLE world, Mom!" Someday I won't be able to hold Elora is one arm or have her scootch up close to me even in her sleep so she can be sure I'm still there. Someday all the baby lisps and cute sayings and mispronounced words will give way to correct adult speech, and the snuggles and hugs will be more restrained and less full of joyful abandon, and the nursing will be done entirely. And realizing this, it makes me want to forget about Someday and snatch every last bit of joy from Today while I still have it, because it will be gone so fast! Someday is always rushing toward me, and while it will bring it's own joys, and it's own challenges, I don't want to live in Someday when Today has so much to offer right here and now.