For the umpteenth morning in a row, I made my hot cup of tea and put it on the counter to cool - away from the reach of small curious hands.
For the umpteenth morning in a row, about an hour later I remembered I made tea.
I vividly remember the first time my mother came to visit after Fynn was born. She cuddle him, listened to tiny hiccups, watched breaths. After realizing how long the hiccups took place for, and how many breaths were taken, she noted that her tea had gone cold. She poignantly mentioned that after you have children, you can never finish a cup of hot tea.
I have never heard a statement that rings truer.
For better or worse, I have yet to finish an entire cup of hot tea, or cocoa, or coffee for that matter, since giving birth to my little ones. I take that back. I have finished a hot beverage, only when not in the company of said children. Maybe it's the act of putting the cup out of their reach, out of their sight - and mine - out of mind.
I tend to put a lot of things out of their reach. Sometimes I wonder if it's necessary. Most of the time it is, for safety's sake. Other times, it's for convenience on my part. Not wanting to dive in and let the kids get into something (ahem... stickers... ) or have to explain that we have to ration something (ahem... cookies... ) so that we'll have more for later. There's a few life lessons I keep putting off, thinking the kids aren't old enough. But they are. They can reach. They can learn. They can understand more than I give them credit for.
Maybe tomorrow I'll drink that entire cup of tea. And maybe we'll learn how to ration to stickers and cookies.