Every first day of school it’s the same thought that plays through my mind: “How on earth did another year go by?” I know that it’s so cliche but it’s so true! How can this possibly be the 13th first day of school in our household? I mean besides the fact that I’m wayyyy too young to have someone graduating. Right??
And there’s a realization that is slowly sinking in. Pam and I have been talking about how being a “mom” has slowly morphed into more of a supporting role in many ways. Our eldest girls are both going into grade 12 and they are faced with decisions for post secondary education, career plans and jobs. It feels SO different than when we were their age. I hate saying that because it makes me feel like an oldie but my memory of entering my last year of high school was one of being pretty carefree. The pressure seems to be way more intense now. Our job is no longer to make their decisions for them and quite frankly, it feels weird.
In planning our fall content, Pam and I have talked about sharing this new era of motherhood with you. I love following many bloggers with young families (I’ll admit that I sometimes often feel a twinge following their life with little ones) and seeing the community of moms that can share their experiences, offer advice and help one another. While we sometimes look back wistfully, Pam and I are embracing the new and constantly evolving stage that we are at. Our roles, as I said, are different. Physically, our kids need less….they don’t need us to wash, dress or feed them. We’re not changing bums (mom, you promised Lincoln would get the hang of the potty…grateful you were right!). The emotional part, on the other hand, is at an all time high. Learning to give freedom while still wanting to protect them from failure, heartbreak, rejection. Offering advice while still allowing them to make decisions. Working to keep our relationship with each of our kids strong and safe and secure. There’s ALOT of praying.
This is new territory for us. And we’d like to talk more about it…and hear from you. Have some real conversations about the hard parts, the worrisome parts AND the awesome parts. There’s so much change coming our way and I’m pretty sure that Pam and I aren’t the only ones feeling the push and pull of it. We also want to share some ways we feel we have been able to keep the bond between us and our kids strong. And things we think we could improve on… I’m sure our kids could provide the list for that!
Now to come up with a name for this series…. “Mid Life Moms? Umm no…not going there quite yet 🙂 If you have topics you’d like us to talk about, let us know! Right now, we’re going to follow where our hearts lead us but we’d love to hear what you’re experiencing in motherhood.
PS I can’t write a post like this without doing a little shout out to the awesome hubbies we have…this gig wouldn’t be the same without these 2 guys keeping things “steady eddy” for us ladies. They are awesome and while they don’t feel the need to share Fatherhood Unplugged posts (wouldn’t that be super fascinating, though???) they play a huge role in this parenting thing.
Here’s wishing you and your kids a fabulous start to the school year,
Laurel xo
