Time. You Greedy B&$*#C!

18 months. That's about how long before my oldest child will be leaving my house for college. At least that's the plan. I don't know if it is the loss we experienced this past year or what, but it all seems like a snowball going down a really steep hill. I have always internally laughed at people who talked about how fast their kids grew up, and thought "Yeah whatever. You are whining because you can sleep whenever you want, your groceries are where you left them, and you do 2 loads of laundry a week? Get over yourself." But now I find myself wanting to stuff my youngest into a toddler bed because it's cute. The oldest is on her way, so I can't stop that, but maybe I can stop the youngest? No? Dammit. Anyway. I find myself frequently frustrated at my job, especially when dealing with kids. Well, not really the kids, but their parents. It seems to me that a lot of parents today have forgotten that their job is to RAISE their children to be adults. It's a process. Not just to keep them alive until they magically become great people, but to teach them how to be productive citizens. This involves skills that do have to be taught. And when parents are lazy, they then want the police, or teachers, or anybody else to fix their children, and that ticks me off! I don't claim to be the perfect parent by any stretch. We are feeling our way, and making mistakes just like many others. But we are present and actively raising our girls. And as hard as it is and as frustrating as it can be, sometimes I do get panicky thinking that in just a few short years it will all be over. It really does go too fast.