The Conversations We Don't Want To Have, But We Do...

 

Almost every single day I view posts from parents on my social media streams extending birthday wishes to their human kids. Most of these posts include photos from when they were born until the present day. They're accompanied by lengthy paragraphs about how they can't believe their kids have grown up so quickly. 

As Dog Moms, Lisa and I have these very same discussions several times a year about our kids.

With it being a new year, Lisa and I talked about our kid's Gotcha Days coming up and how old they'll be. Over breakfast. This morning.

This year, we struggled with having that conversation for a few reasons...

Coco, who we adopted in August of 2012, is officially a senior. Although his exact birthdate is unknown, we know that he was about 1 1/2  years old when we adopted him. 

We will be celebrating his 9 year Gotcha Day in August. 

His sweet face is turning gray, especially around his eyes. He's slowing down a bit. A little more set in his ways. More sensitive. Clingy. 

Our other senior, Sophie, we adopted in 2014. She was 5 years old. Her face is almost all gray now. She has slowed down quite a bit. Very set in her ways. When she wants her space, she has no problem letting her siblings know. 

We will be celebrating her 7 year Gotcha Day in June.

We also realized that Lobo is climbing the age ladder too. After his life-saving surgery back in 2015, he was 2 years old. We fostered him through recovery and made the decision to adopt him a month later. 

This year, he will be 8 years old. 

In a few weeks, we will be celebrating his 6 year Gotcha Day.

The youngest of our kids is Willa. She was 2 years old when we adopted her. She is a bundle of Jack Russell energy who enjoys at least 165 games of fetch a day.

But...

She's getting older too. She's more confident. Sensitive. Very clingy with us and her siblings. 

She will be 6 years old this year.

We will be celebrating her 4 year Gotcha Day in March.

During this discussion, Lisa and I were like, "Where did the time go?"

As time has moved forward, when these discussions surface, we keep saying, "I don't want to talk about this now..."

But, we have to.

Our kids are getting older.

Much older.

Much. 

Older.

Time is precious. 

This is one of the many reasons why we are so grateful that almost a year ago, we went forth. Toured a house that we fell in love with because it was perfect for our family. 

Made an offer.

And, a little over a month later, closed on and moved into.

Even though our kids had the greatest of life in our previous home.

They are living their best life now. 

The only place we want to be. 

As they age.

As we age.