I used to...

About a year ago, we went to story time at the library like we usually do on Tuesdays. 'Library Pete' had been on vacation and said that he had been kayaking. I overheard one mother tell her toddler, 'Your mother used to go kayaking, too!' There was a little edge in her voice.

There are a lot of things I used to do, too.

I went backpacking.

I went mountain biking.

I hung out for hours at coffee shops.

I painted.

I made cards for most of my friends' birthdays.

I created random things out of random things.

I spent uninterrupted hours tending to flower and vegetable gardens.

I stayed up late.

For the past few years, I have felt a certain amount of, dare I say, resentment that I could no longer do whatever it was I wanted whenever I wanted. I have also felt a level of disappointment in myself that I don't have the ambition to continue to do some of these things while I tend to my first priority, my children.

Slowly, though, the negative feelings are fading as the revelation grows that raising and nurturing my children is the most wonderful thing I can be doing with my time.