Motherhood: the days are long but the years go by ​too quickly.

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The Next Decade 1/31/2020  

In most ways, New Year’s Eve is just like any other night, unless you are in your late 20’s, do not have to work the next day and do not have any other activities the next morning that require responsibility and/or clarity.  If this is you, then New Year’s Eve can be a really great night.    

​New Year’s 2019 to 2020, I was in bed by 10 pm. This is not to say  I have lost my sense of celebration, but my moments have shifted, the size and scope of these celebrations have shifted, and certainly, the things I celebrate have shifted.

Enjoying a "family" moment!

Dec 31st, 2019 I went to the rooms of my boys to kiss them good night as I always do.  Before I left their rooms, however, it struck me as to the scope of what the next decade would bring for them.   Childhood will end. That alone gives me pause. We work so hard to provide a good existence for them and hopefully do not screw them up too much.  It seems not long ago I was consumed with car seats and safety latches, the introduction of solids and the obsessive need to cut their grapes as choking on them was something I always worried about.  Stepping back and looking back I am able to watch their growing independence and personal choices with admiration, pride, and enthusiasm.  

Its good to get your hands dirty!

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In the next decade, their growth will continue and expand in ways they can not comprehend at this point, even if the path is somewhat laid out.  They will change schools several times measuring their interpersonal skills, resiliency, and likely hearts. Friendships will be tested, broken, mended (hopefully), and new ones formed.  

Their passions will grow, expand, or perhaps burst as they see where their skils “measure up” in the real world.  They will need to ask themselves do they have what it takes to make the team? Do they have the drive to persevere? Or, do they give up and walk away? If so, do they hold a grudge or can they look back and say it wasn’t so great a passion in the first place? 

They will attend sleep away camp, learn to drive, get a job, travel with friends.  They must learn to balance the usefulness of technology in their lives with its addictive qualities.  They must pay for their technology so the job will be important. There will be disagreements about what is an appropriate game to play on the Xbox and I know I will sound “like a parent” more often than I would like.

Can I trust the judgement of these two??

They will likely fall in love and I will be replaced…. at least on some levels.  They will first choose than graduate high school, the classes of ‘28 and ‘30. They will set out for their next adventures hopefully with a strong foundation.  

By the end of this decade, they will have their own plan and I will simply be the sounding board, no longer the captain. My hope is to be the cheerleader…...but let’s see the plan first.  

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