Most of my friends with kids have small children, I only have 3 friends with grown children and it seems I am getting ready to join their ranks.
The holidays were great as both the kids were here, however it was over the holiday that the reality that elder boy is almost an adult hit me and hit me rather hard I must say. When our kids are small, we are so wrapped up in them and at times it feels like we will never have our own lives since with small kids they pretty much call the shots.
Yet one day you wake up and realize they aren’t so small……our path has been a rather nontraditional path since elder boy has journeyed between his father and I since he was 6. Two morons who couldn’t agree on anything so he has juggled life in two places for as long as he can remember, by the time he was 8 he had his own frequent flier miles.
However despite this crazy life, half rural, half urban he has thrived…at times I am amazed at how well he has done since if I were listening to the professionals, they would have me to believe he should have issues. The only common thread between his father and I is that we both love this child more than life, but he is no longer a child, he is a young man.
This afternoon I watched him prepare his bags and get ready to make the trip back to the midwest, a seasoned traveler, a young man confident in his future and while I am so proud of him, there is a part of me struggling to accept that he is no longer a baby though he will always be my baby. Already he is planning his summer as he knows this summer will be the last one free of adult obligations since after he graduates next year he knows he has to prepare for his future which right now looks like it will include college.
Where does the time go? For so long, I was a young Mama struggling to raise a boy on my own and somewhere along the line, we all grew up as evidenced by the fact that a family friend commented on the increasing grey streaks in my dreads that are the only visible sign that I am no longer as young as I once was.. now I am a grown up with kids (plural) a house and grown up responsibilities. Yet its all part of the life path we take, we get old, and hopefully we get wise.
Anyway for those parents that read me, hug your babies if they are still small because before you know it, you might be looking up at a young man whose a foot taller than you. If your babies are grown as I am learning, you can still hug em and let em know you are a safe harbor while they find their place in this crazy world.
