By Themselves

When the girls were all babies, I couldn't imagine them ever doing anything for themselves.  I think most everyone has a hard time imagining their babies doing anything on their own.   Then they get a bit older and they do start to learn  how to feed themselves, dress themselves, even wash up in the bathtub at night.  Because my girls are so close in age, I feel like I have been helping at least one of them since forever.  Slowly, they have all started doing those things on their own though.  Georgia still needs a bit of help, but since she's determined to be like her sisters, she doesn't really like to accept the help.  The one thing I figured they would still need me for, for a while anyway, was getting buckled into the car seats.  Until last week.


It's funny, because anytime I would talk about having to do this or do that for the girls and how it would just be easier when they could...fill in the blank here, my mom would talk about how she remembered the first time she told us to go get in the car, and we did.  And we buckled ourselves.  She told me as a way to let me know, I would get there eventually, and quickly.  Perhaps I shouldn't be so eager to get there.


Getting my girls into the car and buckled is one of the things that makes us at least ten minutes late to anywhere we go.  From getting their shoes on, to actually getting in the car, fighting over which seat they are going to sit in and then the buckling.  OH... MY... GOD!!  THE BUCKLING!!!


Sonya is not a problem.  She can usually do her own, not a big deal.  Lana has gotten better, but still needs help sometimes.  Georgia, well, she can do the top of the 5 point harness, but the bottom is always an issue.   However... BACK OFF!  Because,


"I CAN DO IT MYSEFFF!!"


That is what you will hear if you even think of helping her.  This is what takes another five minutes to get out of the driveway.  Why? Because she CAN'T do it herself. She can do part of it by herself, but she needs help with the bottom, and she does NOT want help.  Then I give up throw the car into reverse and when she realizes that we are moving, THEN she asks for help.  This has been going on for quite a few weeks now.  It's starting to get extremely annoying, and I'm ready to just strap her to the luggage carrier on the roof of the van instead.  Except then, I will get those disapproving looks from other drivers.  Whatever.  Do they have a three year old insisting to do everything by themselves?? NO?  Then don't judge.


Well, then last Tuesday we were getting ready to take the two little girls to their new ballet/tap class.  They must have all been excited to go, because I only told them once to get their shoes on and head to the car.  Within two minutes they were all out of the house and in the van.  I grabbed my sunglasses and keys and headed out the door.  I noticed the door to the van was already closed.  Usually, they are arguing over seats at this point, but I saw no sign of that.  After I locked the door to the house, I opened the door to the van.  There I found all three girls sitting in their seats, completely buckled.  Including Georgia.


"Are you ALL buckled?" I asked.


"YUP!" They replied.


"Did you all buckle yourselves?" I said looking at Georgia, figuring Sonya must have helped her.


"YUP!" They said again.  "Georgia did it all by herself too," Sonya said reading my mind.


"Oh, wow.  Great job girls!" I said.  I was shocked.  I was proud.  I was so sad.  They did it by themselves.  Without my help.  They didn't need my help anymore.  This is the part about motherhood that really sucks.  You spend all your time trying to get them to do something on their own and then when they do it, you want that time back when they couldn't do it and needed you more.


I made kind of a sad face as I was closing the door to the car and the girls asked me why.  I told them, I was happy that they did it on their own, but sad they didn't need me anymore.  Then I walked around to get in the driver's seat.  As I opened my door, Lana unbuckled the bottom part of her seat and said,


"Mommy!  I still need help!  You can buckle me."


Awwwww!  So sweet I know.


"No, it's okay Lana.  I'm happy that you are all getting bigger and can do it on your own.  It just makes me a little sad.  Good job girls!"  Then off we went to dance class where, for once, I was actually on time.






Just a little side note to this story-this has only been a one time thing so far.  I am still arguing with Georgia over getting her buckled, just about every time we get in the car.  My sadness over them all doing it by themselves, is back to annoyance with GG.  Especially because I know she CAN do it.  It appears that I am never happy with the situation.  I think this may just be part of being a mom.