You're Gonna Miss This

There's currently a song playing on country radio called, "You're Gonna Miss This." I've heard it before, but never really listened to the words beyond the first verse. The other day, I was apparently in a sentimental mood, and I really listened to the words for the first time. The first verse talks about a teenager who can't wait to make her own money and her own rules, but her mom points out that she is going to miss these years and want them back. The 2nd verse talks about a young bride anxious to start a family whose father points out that she will miss the time she has to spend with just her husband. It was the 3rd verse, though, that really caught me:

"Five years later, there's a plumber working on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin', one kid's cryin', and one kid's screamin'
She keeps apologizing.
He says, 'They don't bother me. I've got two babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23, huh, it's hard to believe,
You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.
These are some good times, so take a good look around
You may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this.'"

I'm not much of a cryer, but I was really caught off guard by the emotion as I thought of my two boys. Most days seem so hectic, and more than once I've found myself longing for the days when I don't have to wipe anyone's bum but my own. But this song really helped me to put all the stress into perspective. Someday my boys are going to grow up, and I will wish I had the days back when Adam babbled constantly about who-knows-what, and when Alex's only word was "Mom." I will miss watching Alex's chubby little body crawl right on top of his brother to give him a big, open-mouthed goodnight kiss. I will miss trying to explain to Adam the differences between the words "why," "when," "what," and "where," although at this point, I'm not sure we'll ever get to that point. I will miss looking into my rearview mirror and seeing either two huge smiles or two sleeping kids. Maybe not every moment is great, but enough of them are that I know I'm gonna miss this.