Firsts and Lasts

We've had an opportunity come up that involves moving to the town where I work. Nothing is definite (which doesn't sit well with this planner--I mean, as a teacher, there's a reason both of the girls have June birthdays) but I'm trying to be patient and know that everything will work out. It's hard because the decision is someone else's. Ultimately, we can tell the possible buyers "no," but like I've been telling R, it's not every day that someone asks to buy your property. In five years when we want to move closer to town, we may not find a buyer. Strike while the iron's hot, right? The good news is that either way it's a win/win situation. If the buyers can't do it, the "worst" that happens is we stay in a house that we love. And while I complain a lot about it (especially my blue toilet. . . yes, I really have a blue toilet. . .) I do love the home that we've created. We've put a lot of sweat and tears into this house. It's been hard to think about moving when this is the only home my girls have known. This is where we first brought them home, and where they have continued to amaze us with their firsts. Where they first smiled, crawled, and walked. It's hard to imagine that last December may have been our last Christmas here or that this weekend was our last get-together around the fire-pit. It's made me think about all the "firsts" in life that we anticipate and celebrate, while we sometimes miss out on all the lasts. The problem is that we can easily acknowledge a first smile or a first time of sleeping through the night. It's harder to pinpoint the lasts. You don't know at the time that it's the last time your baby will crawl or call you "Mama" instead of "Mom." We can't know until later when life has thrown us a curveball that it was a last Christmas, a last phone call, a last hug. I guess it's probably best that we can't know everything.

So, I decided to start celebrating some of the "lasts" I DO know about:
our last summer with a preschooler
my last day with braces
our last day with two in daycare
our last family get-together with all nieces (can't wait to meet our new nephew!)
our last summer (hopefully) of diapers
our last day of being in a crib (though honestly Stinkus may stay there til she's 15. We tried a sister sleepover last night and after I saw her five times in three minutes, she found herself caged up again--much to her dismay)
our last summer with baby stuff filling our basement

If we move, there will be even more lasts around the corner. But on the flip side, that means a whole new world of firsts. A first night in a new home, a first bike ride in a new neighborhood, a first meal in a different kitchen. The great part is we don't have to move to experience exciting firsts and bittersweet lasts--we can just stay put and keep living this thing called life.