Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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!
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4 comments:
I echo your sentiments. What joy children bring through the moments that make up a blur of childhood. I'm glad yours have been that miracle for you.
You have me sobbing, Terri. I feel you. The crazy thing is, not a lot of people can relate to this. It makes me feel as though I have a weird or unusual attachment to my children at times, though I don't believe I do. I am so happy for my kids and SO proud of them for the people they are, but at the same time I am stunned at the swift passing of time and I find myself looking back to a time when they were smaller and wanting to hold onto that memory a little tighter. Your kids are amazing, Terri. I'm thankful our kids have eachother to embark on this new chapter of life together. Thank you for sharing this beautiful blog post and for being the truly wonderful mother that you are. The world needs more Terri's!! xo
Thanks for the sweet words. Tanya, I know we've talked about this subject before, and those conversations came to my mind while I was writing this, too. Tricia, you have a big age gap between your two, also. I feel like I get a chance to do it again, kinda softens the blow of the older ones growing so fast, but I suppose I can't just keep having kids to avoid an empty nest
= ) hahaha!
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