When It’s Time To Change, It’s Time To Rearrange…

If you grew up in the States in the 70s, you’ll know what the title of this post is referring to. On the classic show The Brady Bunch, Peter Brady’s voice started to change when he hit puberty. Little Peter was growing up! And we grew up with him.

Last week there was a big change in our home. (I’m having a hard time even typing it.) Silas started using deodorant.

Maybe that’s not a big deal to some of you, but MY BABY IS NOW USING DEODORANT.

I knew the day would come, but I was thinking it would happen when he was in junior high school, maybe going into 7^th grade. At least in his tween years. But he’s only 9 (he’ll be 10 in a few weeks). He’s still a child! Or is he?

All I know is that in my mind, he’s still the baby I nervously brought home from the hospital. The one whose diaper I changed every few hours. The one I nursed for months and months. The one I held as he slept, feeling his warm breath on my neck. The one I comforted when he cried. The one whose fingers grasped mine as he was learning to walk. The one I read “Goodnight Moon” to one thousand times. The one I dressed. The one I potty trained. The one I took to the park and pushed in the swing.

That baby is now using deodorant. That means he stinks. He runs and jumps and gets dirty and rides his bike and wrestles with his brother. He sweats. He farts. He smells.

He needs deodorant.

I knew the day would come, but did it have to come so soon?

And just when I finally convinced myself that it’ll be okay – that he’s not packing up and moving out and leaving me forever just because there’s Speedstick on his bathroom counter, James loses a tooth. And this morning he tells me:

“I know you’re the tooth fairy, Mom.”

I think I’ll just bury myself in their baby pictures and cry.

OK, I’m getting off my shoebox now.