Words for Nicki and Nicholas

Bill's brother, Nicholas, and his wife, Nicki, are having a set of twins. I have been thinking about my own babies and I have wanted to share some thoughts to help prepare them for the arrival of their bundles of joy.

First of all, babies are HARD! When you come home from the hospital, your hormones will be completely out of wack. You will find yourself crying for no reason on an almost daily basis. This is normal (feel free to call me and I will tell you, this is normal). You may be crying at the dinner table for no reason for the fourth time that day and Nicholas may be so used to it, he will just say "can you pass the salt?"  Totally normal. You will contemplate the "drop your babies at the fire station no questions asked" policy. This is normal (just don't act on it). You will learn what it's like to walk around without a shirt on because you have some place to go and you know you cannot safely put a shirt on until the babies are buckled in their seats, lest you get spit-up on. This is normal. There will be days that your teeth feel like they are wearing sweaters because you haven't brushed them. This is normal. You will give them everything they need--food, clean diapers, and most importantly, love. They will give you spit-up, explosive diapers, and wide eyes at 2:00 AM. Here is where my most important piece of advice is. Cherish those wide eyes, rock them at 2 in the morning. Don't miss out on this moment. Be present in it. Breathe in their sweet innocence as the rest of the world is quiet and sleeping. I promise, it only lasts for a second, and then it's gone. People told me how fast it goes when I had Rori. I didn't believe them. I was wrong. When I had Liam, I knew, and I cherished the moments, and when Brendan came, I begged time to stand still. It didn't. And I can tell you honestly, in the blink of an eye, Rori went from a tiny inchworm to a long legged third grader. You will bring those babies home, and you and Nicholas will look at each other and think school is so far away. Then you will blink your eyes and those babies will be off to Kindergarten. The first few months will feel like years, but I promise, looking back, they will be only seconds of your life. Enjoy them. Cherish them. Don't miss out on them. They are but a season, one that you cannot get back. There are many more seasons, but this is one that you don't want to rush.

My mom used to sing this song to me and I sing it to mine now. It's lyrics are true.
Where are you going, my little one, little one? 
Where are you going, my baby, my own? 
Turn around and you're tiny. Turn around and you're grown.
Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own. 

The day before yesterday

yesterday