Motherhood, My Way—No Regrets, If, Ands, or Buts
Graduation time is upon us, and I’m not sad. My son is not graduating from high school; no I’m not that old! But rather leaving the middle school and moving on up to the ranks of the big, bad high school—the rulers of the school, the big shots, the kingpins, the big dudes in Dover.I see other mothers upset that their little sons and daughters are growing up. But not me. These mothers reminisce about the times when Little Johnny was in preschool and brought home his first art project and when Little Susie sold her first candy bar for the dreaded classroom fundraiser. But not me.
For me, I am proud that my son has served his time in elementary school and middle school and earned the right to advance to high school. I am proud of him and his accomplishments. But as a mother, should I be sad? Am I a bad mother for not wanting my boy to stay young?
I don’t think so. Actually, I don’t think I’m like other mothers. Or am I?
This is how I see things. My son, whom I refer to as my fav dude, is a great student. I am very fortunate. He works hard. He studies relatively hard. He plays harder whether it be at soccer, guitar, trumpet, videogames or just life in general. He usually goes at things full bore. (I’m so not sure where he gets that from!) So in my eyes, he has earned the right, the privilege, to move up to the big leagues of the high school academia. His grades are great so why not move up.
But then there’s that thing I call, The Mommy Factor. It’s the urge many of the mothers I see and hear talking are always referring to, the thing that they don’t want their children to grow up. Is it so wrong that I want my son to grow into a good man? These other women talk about how they wish their children were young again, how they want to do things over again.
I think to myself, do it over—are you crazy! Once was enough. I love motherhood, don’t get me wrong but mistakes happen, there’s always bumps in the road. That is how you learn and grow. If life was full of smooth sailing, no one would ever learn from adversity or hardships. How could men and women grow into strong, confident adults if everything in their past was rosy? A little pothole along life’s journey keeps it interesting and also teaches life lessons. These lessons, I believe, are not available in any book but through the experience of life.
So as my fav dude continues on his countdown to the final day of eighth grade, I say to him, “Great job son. You’ve made me proud. I am proud to be your mother.”
I don’t wish to go back in time to do anything again. Life is too full of interesting potholes and speed bumps ahead of us telling us to slow down and smell the proverbial roses to worry about going back to do something over again. I am looking forward to experiencing the pure joy and excitement motherhood brings me as I see by fav dude continue to develop into the fine man he is becoming. I have no regrets for my son, he’s perfect just the way he is. I won’t change a thing. I am of course, speaking as his mother—so he would be perfect, right?!