I’ve become those elderly women who stop you in the supermarket when you have an infant and 2 toddlers with you and you’re just trying to get a loaf of bread and also keep them from destroying aisle 3. These lovely women say “enjoy these years because they grow up too fast”. Meanwhile you’re sleep deprived and just want 2 minutes of quiet without wondering what’s being pulled off the shelf in the next room. You hear “mommy” 3,254 times a day, usually followed by a request to help with something or avert an emergency.

But really, this childhood thing goes lightening fast! Believe it or not, the babies will sleep through the night, learn to control their body functions, and even sometimes clean up their own messes, occasionally without being told. Discipline will change from counting to three and time outs to more creative forms of getting their attention. But they’ll never be a baby like this again. Eventually that little boy who plays with dirt will need to shave. That little girl smiling in that pink, red, and orange outfit because she dressed herself will have her first crush.

And you’ll breathe a sign of relief, but you’ll realize that, like me, you’ve joined the club of old women who tell those young moms, “enjoy these years because they grow up too fast”. And you’ll be right.