I am SO going to miss this

The other day I was cleaning up after dinner, listening to my kids playing in the family room. I don't remember what they were saying, but it was really cute and I was smiling. Then I looked down at the floor and saw the mess they'd made of their dinner and that I was going to have to sweep. I sighed contentedly, though, because I know that there will be a day that I will miss THIS. I will miss this stage of my life even though it's one of the most demanding things I've ever done.

It got me thinking about how the same phrase can communicate a whole range of emotions from me on different days:

*sigh* "I'm going to miss this." Moments like the one mentioned above, or when my kids randomly tell me they love me and throw their little arms around my neck, or when they say something hilarious, or when we are all snuggled in my bed in the morning following the conversation wherever their little 2 and 4-year-old little minds take us

"I'm going to miss this." Simple fact, usually when I realize I need to store a memory for the future

"I'm going to miss this...right?" After I've taken three kids who are still in car seats to three or four different stores - buckling, unbuckling, keeping them from touching everything, putting them in and out of the cart 10 times because they want to walk - wait, not anymore - wait, they want to walk again, now Kelly's throwing a fit because Max won't stop looking at her...and then noticing an older couple smile fondly at my chaos (at least that's what I tell myself they're doing...they aren't laughing inside, are they?)

"I'm going to miss THIS?!" Cleaning up the hundreds of army men for the 5th time that day, listening to the kids yell and make each other cry, laundry, spilled milk on freshly mopped floors, not more than 2 minutes going by without being asked a question

No matter which kind of day it's been - *sigh* . ? !? - I am so glad to be a mom. This is what I've always wanted to be. Sure, I'm doing school right now so that I can have a degree and some kind of profession after my kids are raised. But THIS is what I wanted to be when I grew up. I'm not perfect at it, but gosh darn it...I love it!