Senior Parents and the Stuggle
I'm sitting on a somewhat toasty Monday night watching Hop play in a Freshman football game. No one comes to the freshman football games but the freshman cheerleaders, and parents of the players and cheerleaders. We were about half way through his season, and it hit me that I only had 3 more years to watch him...do just about anything. I voiced it to another mom & of course I started to cry. I mean, yesterday he was going into 1st grade to be a Hooper Trooper & now he was in high school and time was blowin' and goin'. Time continued to speed up as each year passed, and he left the nest, and hasn't looked back since.
Then Harry hits high school; a few years later Hop graduates. Harry is a senior (I really think his year went by faster than Hop's) & Elizabeth is now a freshman. Harry is now a college freshman & E is a high school sophomore. When E is a senior, Henry will be a freshman. Time, time, time. How can I stop you from passing so quickly?
Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for my kids as they experience the last of everything. It's just so final, and the older I get the more emotional I get. I have always wished I could go back to my senior self & impress on her the importance of her lasts. Did my mom feel the same about my lasts? I don't remember. I try to let my kids know how I feel, but am I doing a good enough job of it? Do they understand the importance of each last thing they go through?
For all you moms & dads with kids experiencing the first of their lasts as school starts back, know I am thinking about you. I know how hard it is. I know how much you want to slow the clock to a stand-still. (Or even better, make it stop for a bit.) When your child's friends come over, let them be loud. Let them watch movies, play video games, shoot pool and play ping pong. If you have a pool, let them go swimming. Let them eat you out of house & home. If something gets broken, I hope it's fixable, and I hope you can laugh about it. (I'll have to tell y'all the story of my mom playing chase & the mysterious broken banister another time.) Love on your kids and their friends and their friend's parents. Celebrate the wins & console through the losses. Make it a year of lasts they will never forget. And if you need to cry through it, go right ahead. If you need someone to cry with you, contact me.
You can do this. Is it hard? Heck yes it's hard. Your baby is growing up & are having to learn to let go. But, be thankful. There are many parents who never get to experience their child's lasts. Their children didn't live long enough to reach that milestone. So, hug'em tight. Text them on the way to school how much you love them & can't wait to find out how their first last day of school went. Walk alongside them through their lasts. It's truly your last time to teach and correct while they are under your roof.
In 2 years I'm going to have to reread this because E will be starting the firsts of her lasts, but this year I'm in the clear. I am content to be excited about the midway throughs and the firsts. I love being a momma & wouldn't trade it for anything!
Celebrating Life & first of lasts,
~ashley
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