To put things into perspective...

Every Christmas growing up was the same song and dance. My mom would tell us that she was cutting back this year. Don't expect as much as you got last year. Christmas morning would come around and there would be just as many presents under that tree as every year before.

Now right after Cadie was born, we had a talk about how quickly the time goes. She really put it into perspective. Children start truly believing in Santa Claus when they're 3 or 4 and stop when they're 10-11. That's seven years. Seven years to indulge in the wide-eyed wonder that is a child's Christmas.

When you're a kid, that year in between Christmases seems like it lasts forever. Sometimes we wondered if Christmas would come at all. Like somehow the world has played some cruel trick and stopped so that we'll never enjoy opening another red and green wrapped gift ever again.

To a parent, that year goes by quickly and Christmas day is even faster. Blink and those seven years are gone. Like somehow the world has played some cruel trick and your little Santa Claus believer who asked for Barbies and GI Joes has been switched with a someone who wants tvs and stereos (they still call them stereos, right?).

My mom told me to enjoy every day, which is the best parenting advice I've gotten. During pregnancy, I was so afraid that something would go wrong that I wanted to speed through it. It wasn't until the last week before my induction that I realized that I hadn't really taken the time to enjoy what I had because I was so looking forward to what I was getting.

I will not do that for her growing up. I am totally enjoying her as she is. It fascinates me to see how quickly she's growing and what she's learning. Those seven years will go by in the blink of an eye, but when I get to the other side, I want to know that I enjoyed it as much as I could. If that means not seeing my tree from all the presents too, then so be it.