It's the job that never ends.
When they are little, you are on 24/7. It's physically exhausting. There's the sleep deprivation and a fog of diapers, poop and feeding. That fog does eventually lift onto a rush of toddlerhood with all it's flurry of activity and learning and talking! The talking!
We homeschooled, so there was so much laughter, learning, and endless conversations during the school years.
Learning to gradually let go and give them freedom as they get older, is probably the hardest thing of parenting. Letting them fail, giving them the tools to be responsible, knowing when to step in and when to step back. It's all very daunting. But equally rewarding.
Seeing your kids go from this teeny tiny little one that fits in one arm- to becoming parents themselves is completely awe-inspiring.
You'd think that now that they are all grown and have left the house and have families and careers all their own, that my mom job would be over. And the physical part of it is.
Now I'm navigating the road of seeing my kids becoming parents. How much to say, to help, what not to say, when not to help. How to encourage, how to support. How to be the grandparent and not the parent.
It's a whole other level of greatness.
When you're a mom, you're a mom for life. The job doesn't end. There's no 8-5, no sick time, hardly any breaks, even when you are on vacation-you are thinking about them.
A mom to adult kids is a weird stage of life. It's rewarding, challenging, and sometimes very raw. I still cry over them. Still pray over them. I love them. And now my heart expands as they marry and have kids. It keeps expanding..which is a blessing.
I trust God will guide and direct them. I pray they will trust God to do that. I pray the things we've taught them will help them. I pray they will learn from our mistakes as parents. I pray they will teach me how to love them and their kids.
It's a job that never ends. And I love it.
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