On the Other Side of Growing Up

Growing up was always what I wanted to do. Couldn't wait for the next milestone. License on my 16th birthday, get a job, buy a car, graduate, move out at age eighteen. I constantly looked forward and couldn't wait for time to pass. Fast forward to today. My oldest is 16, newly licensed, driving himself to college 5 days a week, and will graduate high school in December of this year. As Zach reminded me, he'll be able to vote for the next president! My beautiful middle child just turned 14 and is taking her first college class this semester. Raising kids has been the greatest experience I've ever had. Being a mom has always been my life's biggest goal; and it hasn't disappointed. Watching them unfold into Godly, fine, gentle, upstanding, moral, outgoing, funny, intelligent, well-rounded young adults is humbling and amazing. How did this happen so fast? I was just holding their hands in the parking lot... My heart has been full and achy these last few days, considering their futures. Watching them make choices and experiment with ideas of what to do, which way to go. They're brave, but not fearless; and for that I am thankful. They pray, I pray. God guides them and gives me wisdom to know how to shepherd them. I feel so honored to be their mom. I guess this is what bittersweet feels like. That's a word I never really understood, before. We want to raise our kids to be self-sufficient, independent individuals and in reality, the time in which to do it is so fleeting. The end of that journey is approaching fast; just around the corner. Although I'll never stop being their mom, my days of having a lot of input and direct influence on their choices are numbered. Hopefully I've grown into the sort of mom whom they will continue to seek out for opinions and advice. And just maybe, they aren't in as much of a hurry to move out as I was!