Once a Mom - Always a Mom

You don’t stop being a mom just because your kids grow up.  Once a mom, always a mom, and one of the hardest things you ever have to do as a mom is to let go.

 

It’s not something that happens to you only once either.  The first one comes usually when the baby is brand new and you’re handing her over to a friend or relative so you and your husband can have a dinner out.  That is fairly easy to survive, even if you want to call home several times during the meal to check on everything.

 

The next big one comes when you leave her at day care or school for the first time.  The anxiety is excruciating if she’s screaming and clinging to you the whole time.  The teacher will always tell you how they’re “fine” as soon as you’re gone, but you still are racked with guilt at leaving.

 

There are more small ones as they grow: the first sleep-over, the first date, the first trip to camp.  And then you’re hit with what you think will be the final blow…leaving for college.  We moms are crying at what is such an exciting time for our children.  .  The emotions don’t seem to match. We know they may not always make the best decisions, but now it is up to them to find their own path.  We can no longer do that for them.  If you think that’s the end, it’s not.

 

When your  “babies” have babies you switch from Mom to Grandma. Society hints that this is a relaxing role of enjoying and spoiling the kids and then sending them home.  In reality, you are still Mom…Grand Mom and the feeling that you need to protect and support has not gone away, but it has doubled.  Now, however, you have lost control.  Now, you have to sit back and pray and do whatever is asked, because to offer unsolicited advice will backfire on you.

 

The bottom line with being a mom is that you do the best you can do, you hope and pray that they grow up healthy and happy, and then you do it all over again, hoping and praying the same thing for the next generation.

 

Yes, once a mom, always a mom, and in spite of all the trials and tribulations, I am so thankful that I have that role.  To have the love of a child is the greatest gift of all.

 

This is part of the Steady Mom’s 30 minute blog challenge