Saturday, March 19, 2016

#1630 happy birthday T

Today is basically a holiday at our house...it is T's birthday! It's not just any birthday either: he is 18 today.

MY BABY IS 18!

I felt super emotional about it this morning. I'm always a little emotional on his birthday. It was a big day in my life when he came into the world and I reflect on it. I had my doubts about whether I would have children just because I didn't think MT wanted kids. I guess at the point in our lives and marriage when I got pregnant, he was fine with having kids or not and he was glad to be having a child when I told him about it. Other children were not in the picture for us. I always joke that we achieved perfection on the first try, so why bother? There have been times when I think having a sibling for T would have been nice, but in the long run, I'm happy with the one I've got.

I think I felt so emotional because 18 is such a milestone age. I spent time thinking about whether I have done well by him as a mom. Have I taught him what he needs to know to move on in the world? Have I been too protective? Have I been too strict, too lax or just right? Have I instilled the importance of a strong work ethic? Have I encouraged him to find solutions to problems, to do the right thing, make good choices and how to be polite and respectful? The one thing I know I have taught him is the importance of doing well in school and getting after his homework every night. He's good about that stuff.

Time will tell, I suppose. You only get one chance to get it right with your kids and all any of us can hope for is that the kid knows how much he is loved and cherished and that we, the parents, tried to do right by him and that we did the best we could.



1 comment:

Pappy1 said...

From my point of view you did well.