What My Son Has Taught Me About Parenting
He was my firstborn. I had no clue what I was doing. (Can I get an “Amen”?). I didn’t know much about being a mama. All I knew for certain...this little boy had stolen my heart.
Over the course of his childhood we survived colic, ear infections, asthma, foot problems and a cornea transplant. Fun stuff! The kind of stuff that makes a mama’s heart troubled. But we survived.
I learned a lot about being a sports mama from this kid. Team Mom was my middle name and I loved every minute. There is something so sweet about watching your child succeed. A mama takes great pride in a child’s accomplishments.
This boy taught me how sweet it is to have long conversations about life with your children and to dream alongside them. How my mama heart has lived all those special moments.
This child was the first to teach me what it means to let go. I watched him drive away for the first time after he got his license and prayed he would return safely. I watched him leave for his first apartment two hours away from home and cried for hours. But I learned to adjust.
I have watched this child of mine succeed in his career and exercise discipline in the amount of time and effort it has taken to be where he is now. I have watched him fall in love and make a life with a beautiful girl who brings joy to his heart. It has been a blessing for me to learn how to adjust our relationship to accommodate this new person.
More recently I have watched him parent his own children. I have admired his dedication, his devotion, his love and patience, and his ability to discipline these beautiful little pieces of my heart. I have been so grateful for the opportunity to be a “Grammy”...another first I was able to experience because of my son.
When we have children, it is our duty and our privilege to teach the, to guide them, to love them, and to set them in the right path. But we must also take notice if all THEY teach US in the amazing process of parenting. They teach us about unconditional love, sacrifice, humility, expectations, joy, and even how to survive the tears.
My son has taught me all that and more. And as I watch him being a parent himself, I realize the thing he has taught me the most is that even when I felt like I was doing everything wrong, I must have done something right. Just watching him is proof of that!
