What a Difference a Year Makes

When you have young children, time moves differently.

Some days it creeps along at a tortuously slow pace. I've had days that seemed to last a lifetime and moments where I swore time stood still (and not in a good way). Every fuss and fight-filled minute until bedtime seems to take an hour and every second spent picking up the same mess (for the twenty-fifth time that day) feels three times as long.

Other moments fly by at lightening speed. A hug, cuddle, or snuggle from my antsy-never-stays-still little boy always ends too quickly. The precious baby phase of sleeping in my arms seemed to last but a minute, and nap time is definitely the shortest two hours I know.

With a tendency for time to seem so elastic in a Mommy's mind, it's nice to have a concrete way to mark its passing. Here's where the second year phenomenon comes into play. You see, once your little baby turns one year old, you suddenly have an instant and easy way to keep track of just how quickly those good times are passing by and how far you've come from the not-so-good ones.

From the moment MJ's birthday passed, I could suddenly compare whatever I was doing to the same time last year. At Christmas, the whirling, whizzing mini-toddler I had on my hands was a stark contrast to the sleepy, newborn I held last year under the mistletoe. Our January trip to Lake Tahoe this winter was decidedly less serene and peaceful than it was the year prior (three sets of stairs and no baby gates! Yikes!) And Valentine's Day last year consisted of MJ easily cooing in an infant seat for a picture, while this year's V-Day photo took three tries over three weeks and three adults to wrestle him into sitting still and giving the camera a quick smirk.

So when I glanced outside this week and noticed my lemon trees were weighed down with bright yellow fruit, I was instantly transported to the same moment last year.

Last April, MJ and I created this lovely memory: When Life Hands You Lemons. We spent a peaceful morning in the sunshine, MJ in his trusty bouncy seat watching the world go by and me in the lemon garden, carefully harvesting each fruit and sharing a few with him to inspect and explore.

Well, what a difference a year makes!

It all started out pretty much the same. MJ and I headed out into the garden on a sunny day to harvest some citrus fruit. I gathered my bowls and a bag for the spoiled lemons and invited MJ to come over to the garden to help me. Sadly, he was more interested in the nearby planters (AKA his dirt piles) than learning about fruit trees.

Mommy, I'd love to assist you, but there's dirt over there.



The dirt speaks to me, Mommy. I cannot resist it.





I tried showing him how to pull the lemons off the tree and put them in a bowl. I tried handing him a few lemons to hold. But my lesson in horticulture couldn't carry a candle to the allure of the dirt. Eventually, I gave up on getting him to join me and left him to his dirt.

Finally, when I was almost done picking lemons, he came over to investigate what I was doing.

Whatcha doing, Mommy?



What are these?



MJ spent a few minutes throwing them, rolling them, and inspecting them.

Do these bounce?



Alas, they did not.

So, he moved on to tasting them.





He was about as enchanted as he was last year with their flavor, which was not very...

MJ still didn't seem interested in harvesting the lemons themselves, so I showed him how to move the lemons from one bowl to another and stack them. I'd pull a lemon off the tree, place it on the lawn and let him put it (or throw it) into the bowl.





What a good job he's doing. :)



And just when I'd given up on him actually harvesting any lemons, I turned around to see this:



He'd spotted one! You can't tell from the photo, but he's buried inside the lemon tree tugging on a fruit. Just like Mommy!



I was so proud! MJ doesn't copy me (or anyone really) very often. He'd rather do his own thing, so to see him mimic my actions is pretty adorable and special.

Since the particular fruit he'd chosen wasn't quite ripe, it was pretty hard to get off the branch. Even though I helped him pull it, he quickly lost interest. I figured the lemon experiment was done for the day and I'd need to quickly finish up the task.

Turns out, I was wrong.

Upon further inspection, MJ noticed two of his favorite things in this quaint little garden: bark and dirty things (in the delicious form of fallen, rotting fruit.)

Mommy, why didn't you tell me there was bark back here?



And these gross, smushy fruits are way more fun than the ones you keep picking.



Now, many a Mom would probably lose her cool at the idea of her child playing with spoiled fruit, but I'm of the mind that unless it's dangerous, immoral, or going to create a ton more work for me, a wise Mommy doesn't needlessly discourage her toddler's efforts (even if they do rank a little high on the "ick" scale).

I always try to find a way to turn MJ's explorations into something fruitful - no pun intended (ok maybe it was intended). And since all that fallen fruit needed to be picked up anyway, I figured I may as well let my little garbage lover take a stab at it.



He did great. MJ piled the bad lemons into my waiting paper bag in record time.



My favorite part was watching him inspect them. Some of them he would really take a good look at before deciding if he should put in the bag or carry it around a while longer.

This one did not make the cut.



How sweet is that expression of concentration on his little face? I just love it!

In the end, it didn't go as easily (or quickly) as last year's lemon adventure, but it was just as fun. I loved how seriously and carefully MJ took his role and how thoroughly he inspected and explored our crop of fruit. When it was all said and done, MJ helped me harvest 29 lemons.



I think I may have a budding produce buyer on my hands. I wonder where he gets it from? :)