Ahhhhhhhhhh parenthood!
When in those initial months or years of courtship, one lazily dreams ahead of babies and all the sweetness that comes with them. There are powdery baby smells, heart-melting baby coo-ings, the toothless smiles that brighten the world, the precious hand-holding, hugging, and lap-sitting that seems to make all the rest of the existence melt away!
No one tells you about the milk spewing, not-so-powdery baby smells, the crying that can go on for hours on end, the pains that come with cutting those first teeth, and the insipid injuries of independence as those hand-holding and lap-sitting days fade into things much too baby-like for them to possibly endure a minute more.
There are those "terrible two's," which really weren't so terrible, but they surely paved the way to prepare you for the teenage years . . . which no one is really prepared for! And then . . . school . . . and the influence of others! Oh, heart be still! Still you stay stalwart and true to your teachings and hope that the foundation you poured is strong.
Creating a person is the fun and easy part! Raising a person is the journey of a million steps that is paved with love and understanding, landscaped by boundaries and beauty, and once they have reached the top of those sometimes slippery stairs, a world awaits their glorious entrance to enrich it, to breathe new life into it, to be and do whatever they choose to pursue. While we are left to remember those powdery baby smells, heart-melting baby coo-ings, the toothless smiles that brighten the world, the precious hand-holding, hugging, and lap-sitting that seems to make all the rest of the existence melt away!
With my "baby" beginning college in just a week, I tear up (imagine that) at the thought of creating and raising such amazing individuals. Young adult people who are aware of themselves and, more importantly, the world around them. They have learned and lived through more than most, and have emerged atop those slippery stairs in fantastic fashion and I could not be prouder of them and all the possibilities of who they can be become!
Ahhhhhhhhhh parenthood!
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