Something in the air?!

I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s something in the air. Perhaps it’s the pollen that’s been floating around; maybe the yellow dust it leaves on the porch has permeated my brain. Maybe it’s a hormonal flux. Or some sort of lunar phase. Whatever it is, it has moved me to tears more times than I care to admit over the past week.

My daughter Ciara had her last day of gymnastics on Wednesday and when I arrived to observe, she leapt up out of her pike pose, squealed “MaMA!!!!!!!!” with delight and scampered into my lap like a snuggle-bunny. And I started sniffling like a ninny -- which almost turned into sobbing like a fool when she got her year-end trophy. A trophy! Not only can my girl do a somersault, she has a trophy to prove it! Sob!

On Thursday, it was her last day of preschool … well, technically, it was just the end of her “3 day 3s” program – she’ll be going back in the fall for the “5 day 4s”… which makes it all the more ridiculous that I was once again moved to tears. Looking at the sweet little photo album she received as a memento of the year was just too much. Similar to the caterpillar to butterfly transformation she has told me so much about, my own little lady has morphed into a real little girl. A real kid. And, from what they told me, a kid who is as fast on the playground as she is in the classroom. It’s admittedly with a fair amount of pride that I thought “yep, that’s my girl!” Sob!

Then there’s my oldest son, Liam, whose last day of kindergarten is rapidly approaching. I had to pick up his first grade school supplies this week – an event that already had me on the verge but, as I strolled through his elementary school, taking in the pictures and poetry that adorned the walls, I just couldn’t help myself. Sniffle. Sniffle. SOB! My little boy is growing up! He’s going to be a FIRST GRADER!!!!!! Oh where oh where does the time go?!

Speaking of time, I found myself cleaning out the triplets’ dresser AGAIN this week. Given that I’ve got three toddlers sharing one dresser, it’s no wonder that rapid turnover is required. I guess I just wasn’t ready for them to outgrow all the 12-18 month stuff so soon! I was overcome with nostalgia as I put the too small onesies in hand-me-down piles for my sister and friends. This is really the end of the onesie for them. At 20 months, frankly, I’d be hard pressed to find a onesie that fits – on their bodies or in their drawers! Even so, saying good bye to the onesies really represents saying good-bye to the baby days… for them and for me. They’ll have no more onesies and I’ll have no more babies. SOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s over. The gymnastics, the “3 day 3s”, kindergarten and onesies. It’s all over and I must say, good byes have never been my strong point. In fact, my husband always starts to hustle me out of any social setting a good half hour before we need to leave because he knows it will take at least that long for me to bid my farewells.

So, in this past week that’s been full of endings, I’ve been full of tears. And while I’d like to chalk it up to something in the air, I suppose I must confess that’s it’s really something in me. Something that simply needs a moment to be nostalgic about the endings before I can embrace the new beginnings. Fortunately, experience has already shown me that as quickly as time does fly by, it just keeps getting better and better. And, come to think of it, I probably won’t miss wrestling three squirmy babies into onesies anyway!

(Tooth) Fairy Tales

Last week marked a notable “first” for the Lyons Den. Our first kid lost his first tooth. It shouldn’t have come as a big surprise – he’s been wiggling it for weeks and many of his friends have been proudly boasting toothless smiles for months. However, when that little tooth finally popped out and Liam called my dad to announce “I lost my toof Pop-Pop! I LOST MY TOOF!” I had tears in my eyes. This, I thought, is the end of an era.



There have been many signs along the way that might have alerted me to the fact that the five year old before me is no longer a baby, no longer a toddler, but a real kid -- “all boy” as his teacher told me last week. This kid, this boisterous little boy, goes to school, makes his bed, puts his dishes in the dishwasher, gets himself dressed and is (far too!) frequently charged with supervising his siblings. We often treat him like a little adult and he responds in kind – sometimes even sauntering with his hands in pockets like a wise little man far beyond his five years. Why then, I wonder, have I been so moved, so caught off guard by the loss of his first tooth? I suppose it’s because this tooth seems like a beacon of things to come -- of other notable firsts. First grade, for instance, looms right around the corner!


As Des and I talked over dinner that night, he said “You know, he’ll make a good husband one day.” WHAT?!! A husband?! But he’s only five! Somehow this tooth has us marrying the kid off! While we’re at it, I asked “What we do with the tooth?” Of course, Liam was expecting the tooth fairy to whisk it away… and so she did. But now what? Des said “Just throw it away.” Throw it away?! This perfectly formed little piece porcelain? How could we?!


And then it came to me – we can give it to his wife on their wedding day! There. Now I feel better. I will hold on to that tooth and it will be a gift for the lucky Mrs. Liam Lyons to be. Maybe. Or realistically, maybe not. Either way, I’m not letting go of this first tooth for a long long time. And, just as Liam continues to believe in the Tooth Fairy and eagerly awaits the telltale wiggling of the next tooth, I have to believe that this is a kid who will happily ever after. After all, isn’t that what fairy tales are for?