The Tides Of Motherhood

Today is Mother's Day. Even though I celebrated it yesterday, I will see my parents again today. As I looked around the room last night, I realized that motherhood has many levels. We need to move with life's ebb and flow when it comes to parenting. When our children are small, we nurture very closely. We are hands on and make all of the decisions. When our children reach adolescence, we need to back off a bit. If we don't, they will never learn to stand on their own. When they reach young adulthood, we can move a bit closer again as they become more our equals. They solicit our advice and will take it into consideration. When they meet their spouses, we must pull back again, as there cannot be three people in a relationship. Your child must align themselves with someone else, and rightly so. We hang back for a bit until there are grandchildren. Then we offer advice sparingly but love immeasurably.