When did that child stop taking my hand to walk down the hall to pick up his sister from her afterschool class?  Did I miss something in the progression of time?

I don’t think I stood still long enough to recognize the time passing.  I was always on the go, needing to do this and that, driving one here and the other there, wishing I had a moment to myself.  The days of not being able to go to the bathroom without a knock and someone yelling, “Mommy!!”

Now my child has his first job offer, and offer that is better than my first offer, by far!  And, he’s ready to head off into the large work world.  I hope he does well, enjoys himself and takes the time to stop, look around himself, and listen for the sounds of everyday.

My life’s work has been to raise my kids, and I and my spouse did pretty good.  They are good kids for the most part.  (Besides being awful at home at times, they are the perfect angels at someone else’s home!)

Friends hope for the day when they have grown-up kids.  But, the parent burden continues to be part of my life.  I worry about them still and am available to help out. I  I had promised myself, a much younger self who voiced this a lot to my spouse, “they need to grow, experience, and learn” from life’s disappointments.  We needed to allow them to learn from their mistakes.

But, being a mom means you kiss the boo-boo, wipe away the tears, and help them stand back up. Parenting is complicated, it never ends.   It’s a life’s work.