The Five Minute Friday word of today is "Grow" and many memories come to mind ...
The most profound is when my oldest son was just a few weeks old. My step-father, mother and I had just finished dinner. My parents got up from the dinner table and headed into the living room where my son was sleeping as sweetly as the newborn baby that he was at the time. I cleared the dishes from the table and was ready to help my mother clean the kitchen, so that I could get back to my baby. My mother never made it back into the kitchen, so I ventured on out to the living room to see what she was doing.
As I walked into the room, I could see that my step-father was watching Jeopardy. I looked towards my mother and she was squashed into the corner of her huge sectional. I walked a bit forward to see that she had my newborn baby in her arms. I said "Mom, what are you doing? Don't you want to clean the kitchen?"
She looked up slowly and said "I AM WATCHING HIM GROW" ...
I was a very immature 21 at the time and really didn't understand what she meant. I thought that she was being smart with me because my mother is on the cynical / sarcastic side at times. I was REALLY upset the whole time that I was cleaning HER kitchen while she was holding MY baby ... LOL :)
5 1/2 years later, I gave birth to my second son. I had matured a bit, though the "watching him grow" experience hit home a little bit when my 2nd son was a newborn. Now that I think back, I was very selfish about the time that anyone spent holding him because I was trying to "watch him grow" as I had seen my mother doing that day. In fact, I tried to carefully watch my first and second sons growing up, but I find that I forget a lot of the stuff my 2nd son asks me about when he was a baby "what time was I born?" ... "what was my favorite baby food" ... etc.
As a single mother of two boys, it is not always easy to watch your children "grow" in the same way that a happy nuclear family or grandparent can see because there are obstacles; many that others overlook and do not understand. They can distract a watching mother at times.
Regardless, as I sit writing this Five Minute Friday blog post (where we write freely for 5 minutes based on one word), I am overwhelmed with the opposite emotions that I felt 18 years ago when my mother said, "I am watching him grow". My 3rd child is almost 11 months old and I am just a few years shy of the age that my mother was when I gave birth to my first son. As I watch this little baby grow, I am flooded with love, joy, sadness, pride, hurt ... a potpourri of emotions that I possess for all 3 of my sons and how it felt watching them grow, but that oldest son is a young man that has moved off on his own.
It is hard to remember that we do not raise our children for ourselves; we raise them for God. Our reward is that we get to "watch them grow" spiritually, emotionally, physically and then they are off on their own with God to continue to watch over them.
In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child
This blog post was inspired by
Five Minute Friday: Grow
23 comments:
Beautiful post!! I love watching my little guy grow!
I'm a single mom, so I completely get what you mean about it "not always [being] easy to watch your children "grow" in the same way that a happy family or grandparent can." But how wonderful for you that you can have that "happy family" experience now♥
Doesn't part of you wish that baby could stay little forever? ;-)
@Bumber's Bumblings - Thank you :) I am glad. Keep lots of notes for his questions later.
@Persuaded - Yes, I say that every month ... I wish he could stay a baby, but after 11 months of broken sleep ... I am reconsidering that, LOL :) I am glad that someone can relate to what I meant by that. It is a deep realization.
I know! When I became a mom, I had to be more purposeful, knowing that she wasn't going to be this little forever!
New follower from the blog hops -- stop on by when you get a chance
http://discoveringthemeinmommy.blogspot.com
@Discovering the Me in Mommy - Yes, it is bitter sweet for sure. I'm headed your way now :)
Watching them grow leaves me with my emotions all over the place - so sweet and so hard all at the same time. Enjoyed your post today!
@Jamie @ Six Bricks High - Awe, thank you :)
Mine are all grown now..I wish a had a little one again to watch grow. Blessings!
http://www.christiangirlygirls.com/
love it God bless
Whoaaa.... I totally get it!..My sons are now 3 and 2 years old and keep growing, I feel like soon they will be going to college already and try my best to embrace every moment with them now..I have been trying to hold them to keep them from growing, but I guess that will be one of the mission impossibles for Tom Cruise to resolve :)
Thanks so much for the comments and feedback on my blog. I'm enjoying getting to know you all and reading your blogs, too. Hugs & Blessings!
"Watching them grow". What a lovely sentiment and a cherished memory. Interesting because you also watched yourself grow as your matured into the woman and mother you became after your second child. Very beautiful post.
Sarah @ made in usa challenge
adorable baby you have :-) followed you GFC (wifetoalineman02) from Friendly Friday Blog Hop, hope that you can return the favor too.
http://www.mommies2ks.com/2011/11/friendly-friday-blog-hop-2.html
@Sarah - This is true :) Thank you so much :)
@wifetoalineman02 - Nice to meet you. I am following as well.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Let me know if there is any way I can help you get started saving. I would love to help in anyway I can.
@Amy @ pounds4pennies - Thank you :) I'm going to read your blog and learn.
What a heartfelt post in such a short time (5 minutes... wow!) Thank-you for reminding us to take the time to appreciate the little things. My children are 24 and 20 and their childhood went by so quickly. My son has multiple disablities that made his growing years very difficult for all of us, especially him. He may not venture out on his own for quite some time (if ever), so we are still watching him "grow" and celebrating the steps toward more independent living (some of those steps are baby, but nonetheless steps in the right direction).
Thank-you for following us at Me, you, and Creamed Corn! I look forward to the fellowship :)
Marisa
@Marisa and Brittany - Awe, I hear you and God blessed her with just the mama to see her through the challenges. I did not see where you wrote about your daughter, so maybe you could make an about page or add Labels to your side bar so that we can learn and other moms can connect for how you can guide them as well. I look forward to our learning and sharing with one another. Happy Thanksgiving :)
What a great post. It's easier to appreciate watching others grow after we've grown and have been growing ourselves. I can imagine that you have another perspective on mothering a young one after all these years :-)
@Sabrina - You're right about that ... everything is a miracle when you learn better through experience.
What a sweet posting!! It is so true, we don't often take the time to watch our children grow!! Thanks for linking in with my Memory Lane!
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