Gratitude Post #19

Today I am grateful that not all of my children are teenagers at the same time, nor toddlers.  When I had just Dillan and Chloe, I was talking with a woman about how I loved him as a 3 year old with all the funny things that he said and Chloe as a baby that I got to dress up as my living doll, and how I loved these ages and dreaded when they were teenagers.  She said that she loved her children at all stages of their lives, even when they were teenagers.  I looked at her incredulously because I remembered what I was like as a teenager and we don't need to call my parents or siblings to confirm that I was a HUGE pain as a teenager.  I picture my parents singing songs of joy when they dropped me off at college. I couldn't believe that any sane person would enjoy a teenager.  Now, truth be told, this woman that I was talking to is not a sane person, I don't mean that she has been diagnosed with any mental disorder, but she does punch my husband in the arm every time she sees him and calls him a jerk, and Kevin has seen her puppy climb down her dress and come out the bottom, so her opinion is not completely balanced, but I do understand her point.  As my children have grown, I can appreciate them at each stage in their lives.  I love babies and their smell and the funny faces that they make when they sleep.  I love toddlers and their curiosity.  I love preschoolers and their perspective of the world.  I love school age when they are able to play and have fun.  I love teenagers WHEN I can talk to them and discuss what is going on (NOTE:  I did put WHEN in caps on purpose.  I believe I am getting a taste of my own medicine with this one.  I used to tell my mom to stop looking at me and I would not converse as a mature individual.  I was a stinker.).  And I look forward to when my children become parents and then I get to be the grandma.  And I will tell their children all about their parents silliness.  But, boy, am I grateful that I'm not Nadya Sulemon (aka "Octomom"), and not just because she has fourteen children, eight of which are the same age.  I can't even wrap my brain around having more than one person in each stage.  I'm glad that I get to appreciate each one of them as they go through each phase.