Movin' On

Written by jen Tuesday, 28 September 2010 12:15

Blog

My legs aren't working too well today. It's probably the multiple flights of steps I climbed (foolishly) the past two days, coupled with the trek across campus locating classrooms. Or maybe it was the return trips to Target to purchase batteries and light bulbs and plastic drawers which we didn't anticipate needing.

Or it could just be that I'm spent--physically and emotionally-- after moving my oldest child into his college dorm.

Like thousands of parents in this situation, the flashbacks of every milestone he has reached keep running through my mind. It's like watching a rerun that won't stop. From curly-haired toddler to chatty middle schooler to those mid-teenage-years-with-an-attitude, he has made the transformation from boyhood to manhood in the blink of an eye. I know it's so cliché, but where did the years go?

Somewhere between washing socks and meeting deadlines, between managing homework and managing a household, I forgot to pay attention.

But maybe I didn't.

Maybe we did pay attention. Maybe we're just exhausted from paying attention! I have to believe, to pray with all my heart, that we paid attention to what mattered. (It is comforting to think this, at least.) We have been accused of being "overprotective " with our children, and that may be so by today's standards. Did it work? I don't know, because none of our kids is actually "done" yet. I'm pretty sure I'm not "done" as a parent either, even though this child is living away from his childhood home. Not by a long shot.

We will continue to do the best we can, focusing on family and faith and attempting to set a good example. Have my kids made mistakes? Sure. Are we the perfect parents? We could write a book on what NOT to do, and how NOT to react to the unexpected adventures life throws you. Stuff happens. You manage, sometimes better than others. Then you pray that your children learned as much as you did, that the tough times make them wise and strong.

I sent my son off with a hug and a tear or two (saved for the car ride home, of course). And I repeated the mantra I use when faced with something new and unknown: "It's all good." Optimism is something I'm learning.

Sentimental? Yes. My legs are tired and my eyes are red but there's nothing wrong with my heart. I'm a mom, after all.