Written originally Sept 28, 2007
Your baby is born, you are exhausted; you feel emotional and then when you are handed a bundle of blankets, the world stops and the bustle of the delivery room is stilled. If you are lucky enough to have a newborn that is wide awake and calm, you watch the wonder in their eyes as they blink away the bright lights and react to the cooing of your voice. Often you wonder how did you get so lucky to have such a wondrous and beautiful being that chose you to be their mom.
Your baby grows and learns little steps of independence in milestones, which you watch for carefully every day, and every hour. Your little bundle of joy is now a pretty demanding entity who knows exactly how to get your attention in the fastest way possible; whether it be a smile, a cry or just the gurgling noises of a baby learning to react to the world around her. You know he knows who you are, maybe not by name, but by the feeling of love you shower him in his every waking moment.
Your toddler is that baby who is not so much a baby anymore. You can tell from the way he responds to you and the world around him, he wants to go off on his own but have you hold his hand the entire way. You are there for all the kisses, for all the falls; there for every new wonder discovered in places she sees for the first time. Showing her how you like to discover and share, teaching her how to interact with others, and feeling for the first time the personal way of how she shows you how she loves you.
Your young adventurer has started to take you into the world of discoveries you may have forgotten or never seen. The way the bugs like to hide in strange places around the window sill, how many flowers can be picked in one lazy afternoon spent at a park, how many new words said every day to describe the world around him. Shapes in clouds you have never seen are pointed out with such regularity you wonder why you have not noticed it before. She is willing to start and finish full conversations with you, even if you are not sure of the topic, you know you will listen with your heart.
Your child is off to school, learning the tools that you may have not had time to teach her yourself, such as the alphabet or numbers, or even colors. You have a child who for the first time sees what other adults are like when they want to teach him new things everyday. She makes friends of everyone in class and learns a few things you don't want her know, such as how yucky ham sandwiches are, or how chocolate milk is the only milk. You can feel a little distanced from him now, but still feel as if everything you tell him, he will take to heart.
Your preteen is starting to really make you take notice. This is not the little mewling infant you were put in charge of on day one; this is the person who wants to come out of that childlike shell. He says things that make you wonder what language he is speaking. She wants to wear clothes you would never dream of dressing her in. He takes to heart what others think of him. She is always finding ways to be accepted. He does not believe you have ever been as cool as him. She won't talk to you like you know anything at all and he learns to say things just to placate you. And just when you think the dam is going to burst, a compromise is reached. It is not always so difficult, but sometimes it feels like it.
Your teenager has finally emerged, ready to take on the world on his own terms, and yet you know that there is more for you to teach. She never listens to your advice, thinking you are way out of date, and what is happening to her has never has happened to anyone else, so how could you possibly understand? He feels he needs to make his mark on the world and go off on his own without you. This is the part where you, Mom, get to stand back. You can see where the road is rough, but you don't get to drive anymore.
All your best laid advice and experience would have been instilled years ago, but you feel the need to keep on trying to show her more. He must start walking this road alone. You, dearest Mom, have done your best, and created the most perfect person you could possibly make. Of course, this is the hardest part. You would gladly take back those sleepless nights, and feedings every 2 hours to have that precious time with your child again. But you have reached that milestone, the ultimate goal you had been working for all of these years.
