Did I really have a hand in this.......

When your kids become adults or almost adults you look back and wonder..... when did I learn how to parent??

As a new parent you have no book to refer to, only what your parents did or didn't do when you were growing up or maybe your own crazy ideas of I will never do that or let me try this.  Then there are all the social pressures of the perceived "perfect moms".  You think to yourself how am I EVER going to navigate my kids through this thing we call life...

People would always ask me if it got easier as my kids got older.  That is not an easy answer.  It's one of those yes and no answers.  LOL  Let me explain from my perspective.

Yes, it gets easier just from the sheer fact they become more self sufficient or more independent.  No diapers, no bottles, they can take a bath by themselves, etc....

No, it does not get easier because all of a sudden the pressures of society start to become a real part of their lives and they have to deal with Friends, Bullies, Peer Pressure, Mean Girls, and the list goes on....  And you as the parent have to try to help them navigate.  The older they get the harder this gets.  You have to let them handle some of this on their own so they learn how to become active members of society and understand how to get along with people that may not be just like them.  It is so hard to watch your kids fall and they will trust me, more than once.  Just be there to catch them and tell them it will be ok.  The heart strings of a Momma really get tested during the growing up years.  Some days you just want to throw your own tantrum but somehow (by the grace of God) you stay standing and get you and you kids through.

Then comes the time of their lives when they graduate high school and start their lives as, shall I dare say it.... ADULTS!!!!  WOW.  Those Momma heart strings are really pulling now.  You have done all you can do to prepare them for the world and now you have to sit back and watch them fly.

I can honestly say, that my kids have grown up to be pretty great adults.  They are both in the EARLY adult stages but they are starting out right.  This is what brings me to the title of this post.  I watch my kids in awe sometimes and wonder, did I really have a hand in this?  It's amazing because I am still trying to figure out my own life.  LOL  Even through all the struggles when they were Tweens, Pre-Teens and Teenagers, they survived!!

They make me so proud, my heart literally bursts!!  I am about to drop my Daughter off at college in LESS THAN A MONTH, get the Kleenex ready.  She is MORE than ready and I, to say the least, am no where near ready.  But I have taught her all I can up to this point and now I need to step back and let her spread her wings and do her thing.  I know I have taught her well and she really has a solid head on those shoulders of hers (she has cracked it more times than I wish to mention HA).  And my Son, wow, he is going to be graduating the Police Academy in just a few months.  I can't tell you how proud and how scared I am all at the same time.  He has had his heart and mind set on this goal since he was 14 years old and has done everything on the straight and narrow to make sure this dream will become a reality.  At the young age of 22 at that.  I was a first time Mom at his age and certainly did not have my life together but he has set a goal and stayed the course.

I say all of this to let all the moms out there that are wondering when things will get easier, or those that are wanting to pull their hair out, or those that feel like they are just at the end of their rope, I have been there and IT DOES GET EASIER!!!  Just be prepared to feel the tugging on the heart but the pride you feel when your kids succeed is, well I don't have any words for that.

To my kids: Know that I am ALWAYS proud of you and will ALWAYS be here no matter what.  You both have made my life as a Mom so many things and I can't imagine doing life without either of you.

Aim High my kiddos, and remember, I am and always will be your biggest fan!