This photo says it all.
Where does time go and so quickly?!
Baby #1 is celebrating his 19th birthday today. As a mom, I take some time on my sons' birthdays to reflect on the awesome milestones and personal growth experiences [my husband and] I had as parents throughout our family's lives. From figuring out sleepless nights, diaper changes, tiny arm holes, teen fashion these days, the tooth's fairy exchange rate, sports, homework as far as we could go with the kids on the subject matter, figuring out how to pay tuition, figuring out how to pay for extracurricular activities, figuring out if allowances made sense, keeping them clothed, fed, sheltered, well educated, inspiring their imagination, their love for travel, their taste for the refined as well as the rudimentary, figuring out the social network situation and our rules, how to parent with technology, if girls were a thing or not yet, being okay that the kids are taller and loving they are taller, figuring out healthy meals, figuring out when not-so-healthy foods were okay and not getting them in the habit or hoping they don't eat too much junk or processed food, family prayers, cultivating faith, cultivating beliefs they could stand behind, teaching them cleanliness habits, teaching them to appreciate different cuisines, teaching them to cook, teaching them to respect, be well-mannered, be compassionate, learning from them, listening to them, teaching them to drive, teaching ourselves to be patient, learning how to get mad on purpose, learning to set an example, learning to parent with compassion, learning about what kids learn about these days, seeing what my kids are passionate about, excited that my sons are concerned and want to vote, want to save the environment, recycle, compost, seeing my sons appreciate Broadway shows, different kinds of music, different genres of the arts including TVs, film and news sites, and the list still goes on.
Bringing up another person is an insurmountable amount of work ... but I don't even see it like that. If I think about it, I recognize it, but to me, I'm just a mom/a parental unit and this is what I/we do. I know it's his birthday, but what a great day for me to sit back and say "WOW - We both Survived! And you turned out pretty nicely!" LOL
