Parents - do you ever feel like your kids are growing too fast?

Relic · #1 08-19-2008, 09:02 AM

Anyone feel free to comment, I don't intend this to be for parents only.
This past weekend was my oldest son's 14th birthday. I'm proud of him - he's smart as a whip, I have no behavioral probs with him, he's getting huge and starting to look more like a man and less like a kid every day.
The problem is that it literally feels like it was no more than 2 years ago when I was pushing him around in a stroller and bouncing him on my knee.. it's a little depressing in some ways. It's hard to explain, I don't regret him growing so fast, I just feel as though somehow it was too fast. Meh, at 14 he still has a ways to go, but it feels like he went from right Pre-School to High School.
Anyone else here experience the same thing?

bassteban · #2 08-19-2008, 09:09 AM

Oh yeah. Mine: 9- boy, 6- girl, 3- girl(this one was a huge surprise). There is no time to stop & think, let alone pick up the camcorder- although we occasionally do- so when we look back a couple of years it's like, wasn't that just last week? Congrats on getting the lad this far w/o any huge issues, BTW. Keep the lines of communication open; 14 is about where I went off.

mike phillips · #3 08-19-2008, 09:54 AM

i know what your talkin about. from the time my daughter was 4 until she was almost 11 i was on the road chasin a racecar all over the country. i missed so much of her growin up. now she is goin to be 16. she is in the top 20 of a class of almost 500. talks of bein a forensic scientist. she is much more mature than i will ever be. i miss the lil girl. soon she will be out on her own. but i have so few memories of her youth.

BlackLake · #4 08-19-2008, 10:02 AM

My little girl is about to turn 5...holy crap!

Luckily, I own a Camcorder, and keep it handy at all times...(one of the best investments I've ever made).

Being a Dad is awesome!

jwbassman · #5 08-19-2008, 10:02 AM

My son is turning 7 next week and his birthday party is this weekend. Last night my wife just broke down crying about how fast he was growing up and how he was her little baby anymore. I'm not quite as emotional as her, but time really flies. So as another poster above said. Grab your camcorder, camera, what ever and capture what ever moments you can.

FL Knifemaker · #6 08-19-2008, 10:04 AM

NO! Not fast enough!!

dave64o · #7 08-19-2008, 10:09 AM

Absolutely. My son is 11 and starts middle school in two weeks.

He fell asleep watching the Olympics last night and my first thought was to carry him up to his room just like I used to. Then I tried and reality set in - he's now 5 feet tall now and 90 lbs. It feels like just a few weeks ago he fit over my shoulders but not anymore. Had to wake the poor kid up and make him walk upstairs.

He's a great kid though. I'm really proud to call him my son.

spinofdoom · #8 08-19-2008, 10:11 AM

i'm not the one watching.

I'm the one being watched...

My parents dont really think about growing up too fast.

they aren't bothered really...

Bros 10, I'm 15...

toytech · #9 08-19-2008, 10:33 AM

Every time you look away they grow about 3 inches! I have one in high school and one starting community college, both boys. The sudden flashes of mature thought are scary, even if rare

jkritchey · #10 08-19-2008, 10:33 AM

My daughter (17) thinks her name is "Are you still here"....

Son (19, home for the summer) thinks his is "When do you go back"....

Croox · #11 08-19-2008, 10:38 AM

my parents cant wait for me to grow up and get out of the house. then agian I'm 25....

Visirale · #12 08-19-2008, 10:44 AM

Yeah they do.

I'm their only child. To them (and me) it seemed like just yesterday I was going with them everywhere as they took me to my obligations and such. Then I turned 16 and drove myself everywhere. Before they knew it I was 18 and in college. Now I'm 19 and moving out.

Hell, it makes me kind of sad. I love them a lot and we get along great. Luckily I only go to school about 20 miles away from home so I try to have dinner with them on the weekends and spend a few hours at home.

Pretty soon I'll be saying the same thing about my own kids

/

. Life is quick, so enjoy it while you can!

**smperry** · #13 08-19-2008, 11:10 AM

Definitely.

My daughter turns 3 in November. Today she's visiting preschool with her mom. In a few weeks we're going to start dropping her off there for half-days...without us. I hope my little girl is ok.

Marshall

Johnny Crab · #14 08-19-2008, 11:14 AM

Yes.

The current picture on my desktop at work(here, behind the firewall!) is a shot I took when they boarded the school bus in the early 90's. They are now 16 and 18 and EVEN though I did keep myself home(read: no band, no road work), it does seem like yesterday....

Ok.
I'm all better....

Enjoy them while you can, take tons of video and pictures...because that will let you see life as it happened.
We're still transferring old VHS stuff to DVD(2 copies, one off-site) and scanning old photos(same backup method).

This RUSH lyric applies:

"Every day we're standing in a time capsule,
Racing down a river from the past,
Every day we're standing in a wind tunnel,
Facing down the future coming fast"

BlackLake · #15 08-19-2008, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smperry

Definitely.

My daughter turns 3 in November. Today she's visiting preschool with her mom. In a few weeks we're going to start dropping her off there for half-days...without us. I hope my little girl is ok.

Marshall

She'll be fine...mine just finished the Junior Kindergarten routine, (although ours was Mon, Wed and every second Fri, full school days).

This year is Senior Kindergarten (everyday, all day). Gonna be pretty boring around here on the weekdays.

MonetBass · #16 08-19-2008, 11:18 AM

Every day, and my son isn't even five yet.

+1 on raising a well-behaved son. I only hope I can do as well (so far so good).

**Thor** · #17 08-19-2008, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smperry

Definitely.

My daughter turns 3 in November. Today she's visiting preschool with her mom. In a few weeks we're going to start dropping her off there for half-days...without us. I hope my little girl is ok.

Marshall

That is the beginning of the end.

One of the bookmarks, I found, is the day they will no longer
let you hold their hand while walking along.

Another defining moment is the first phone call from school.
'Mr. Thor, we are having a problem with your child, and we
need you to come down now to discuss it.' I got my first call
from the kindergarten teacher.

A college acceptance letter is another defining moment. As
is moving all the stuff home when college is over.

Sure went by fast.

bassteban · #18 08-19-2008, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinofdoom

i'm not the one watching.

I'm the one being watched...

My parents dont really think about growing up too fast.

they aren't bothered really...

Bros 10, I'm 15...

I also thought I knew what my folks were thinking(or not thinking

)when I was young, but until you are fully responsible for another life you really have no idea what it's like. Not saying you're wrong, but I sure was.

Gard · #19 08-19-2008, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Crab

Yes.

The current picture on my desktop at work(here, behind the firewall!) is a shot I took when they boarded the school bus in the early 90's. They are now 16 and 18 and EVEN though I did keep myself home(read: no band, no road work), it does seem like yesterday....

Ok.
I'm all better....

Enjoy them while you can, take tons of video and pictures...because that will let you see life as it happened.
We're still transferring old VHS stuff to DVD(2 copies, one off-site) and scanning old photos(same backup method).

This RUSH lyric applies:

"Every day we're standing in a time capsule,
Racing down a river from the past,
Every day we're standing in a wind tunnel,
Facing down the future coming fast"

An even more appropriate Rush tune, from the same album (I guess Neil was going through some STUFF at that time...):

"Time Stand Still"

I turn my back to the wind
To catch my breath
Before I start off again.
Driven on without a moment to spend
To pass an evening with a drink and a friend

I let my skin get too thin
I'd like to pause
No matter what I pretend
Like some pilgrim
Who learns to transcend
Learns to live as if each step was the end

(Time stand still)
I'm not looking back
But I want to look around me now
(Time stand still)
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away

I turn my face to the sun
Close my eyes
Let my defences down
All those wounds that I can't get unwound

I let my past go too fast
No time to pause
If I could slow it all down
Like some captain, whose ship runs aground
I can wait until the tide comes around

(Time stand still)
I'm not looking back
But I want to look around me now
(Time stand still)
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each impression a little bit stronger
Freeze this motion a little bit longer
The innocence slips away
The innocence slips away...

Summer's going fast, nights growing colder
Children growing up, old friends growing older
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each impression a little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away...
The innocence slips away

...I'm a step-dad to 4 incredible kids, and yes, it just happens so damn fast...

RickenBoogie · #20 08-19-2008, 11:58 AM

I have a (nearly) 26 yr old son, and 24 yr old daughter. Honestly, sometimes it seems like only a short while ago they were still kids. Once they start driving, it really goes fast. Enjoy them while you can, things get different after they've moved in with their boy/girlfreinds. At least they still call, and visit fairly frequently.