A Mom is Born!

     Today is my son's 25th Birthday.  It just doesn't seem possible that 25 years have passed. However, when  I see his 6'2" , 200+ pound frame standing in front of me with a days growth on his face I realize it has.  When I think back to being pregnant I recall the feeling that it would  never end. Then there was labor which was extremely short for a first pregnancy, 5 1/2 hours of intense pain that I swore would kill me and go on forever. It didn't.  The infant stage of waking up in the night, the terrible 2 stage, those school age years that required homework to be completed.  I was exhausted, working, raising 2 children, responsible for making the meals, cleaning and laundry.  Not to mention evening activities every night.  My days were never ending...I thought. Then there was the teenage years!  Raising teenagers requires a balance of insanity and a sense  of humor.  Hormones, drama, broken hearts all conspired against my need for tranquility.  Motherhood is a lot like living inside a vacuum.  There is so much centrifugal force that you are helplessly pushed against the wall and there is constant shrapnel flying past you.  Many times I was overwhelmed by circumstances created not by my children as much as my own feelings of inadequacy.  So, by the time my offspring reached the magic age of 18, I finally felt like I could breathe.  Finally my kids were independent.  They reached that golden age,  where I had time to myself. Then it happened...my grandchildren began to arrive.  I was taken back to sleepless nights with a new infant, the terrible 2 stage and now the school years.  The funny thing is now I am embracing all of these rites of passages, both theirs and mine.  I now relish these moments for what they are...precious.  I think as parents we are so focused on raising our children along with work and house chores we forget to acknowledge each day and it's gift.  So here is to your 25 birthday sweetheart. A birthday for you and I as well.  For on this day 25 years ago a new mother was born!