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I had a really tough day today. My
baby graduated Kindergarten. Wasn’t it just last week that I wrote
about her first day?! This crept up on me yesterday, and I didn’t
even realize why I felt emotional until I started ironing her
graduation gown last night. I caught a glimpse of ironing her high school graduation gown. To make it worse I looked back through
her preschool keepsake books that her wonderful teachers made. Then the tears began to fall.
As a mom, I sometimes get tired of
being needed all the time. Come on, I am sure if you are a mom,
you’ve felt that way too. Having your name called 1000 times a day,
answering the 100th question of the day or looking for
that lost _____ (you fill in the blank). Sometimes it all seems a
little exhausting. However, it makes me sad to think that the older
my children get, the less they will need me. I’ll admit it; my
whole life has revolved around my children. But the older they get,
the more they need to take responsibility in order to learn how to
manage life. The more they need to do things for themselves and work
problems out on their own. It makes me very nervous to think about
having to let my kids start making some decisions on their own. But
if we don’t, they will always expect mom and dad to “fix”
everything. They can’t go through life like that and turn out to be
responsible, well adjusted teens and adults.
Of course I know that as parents, our
job is to guide their decision making process so that they learn to
make right choices on their own. Right now, we still have the means
and the responsibility to make the right decisions for them if they
can’t or won’t. I pray that Steve and I are instilling in them
the wisdom they need to one day make those important and even
everyday decisions on their own (with God’s help). We will always
be here for them, but the day is coming when we will not be able to
be by their sides telling them what they need to do in every
situation. Oh, I dread that day!
I realize that they may not always need
me holding their hand to get them through everything, but they will
always need my prayers, love and support…and they will always have
it.
