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| Me and my eldest, circa 1994 |
It has definitely been a wild ride; one that no piece of advice or prior childcare experience could have prepared me for. I'm not sure this is a bad thing. There is no 'life hack' for mothering. No 'top 10 secrets of effective mothering'. No way to know what challenges and joys you will face along the way. Instead, mothering has taught me a kind of awareness and attention I didn't understand before.
Not that I was always good at it.There are a host of mistakes I made that I hope my sons have at least grown to understand, even if they haven't forgiven me for them. If I could send a message back in time for that young mother sitting on the steps with her firstborn, it would be this:
As best as you can, stay present, make space between your emotions and your reactions, and practice self care.If this seems simplistic and simple, I assure you it is not.
I was 30 when my eldest was born. By then, I had been married 5 years, had been working and financially independent for 7, established in my career. My husband and I had settled in Boston and had bought a house.
I thought I was ready.
When I look back, especially at the years when my boys were small (youngest added to the family when the eldest was 2 1/2), I see a woman always on the edge of exhaustion and pushing as hard as she could. Despite having the advantages of a partnership with my spouse, a safe home, good childcare, my anxiety was always there. The background noise of my 30s and early 40s.
There is so much of those years I simply don't remember. Looking through photographs is like sorting through a stranger's life. But there are some events that are etched in my memory. Times when I was able to stay present, find that space, practice self care.
I wish I had spent more of my mothering years in that place.
It has been twenty-four Mother's Days since I became a mother. My youngest son graduates from college in a week. He and his older brother are in the process of moving into an apartment together. They have become wonderful young men I admire.
They have helped shape the woman I am today. After all, I have been a parent for more than half my life. That is a significant role and one that I will continue to perform, even as the specific responsibilities change.
This Mother's Day weekend, my husband and I are at StarField Farm - the place we bought to be our big next step in our lives. After twenty-four years of parenting and raising two boys to be capable young men, it is time to re-focus on our relationship. It's not a turning back the clock -- we are both very different people from the young kids we were when we first met. We're not even anywhere near the 20-somethings we were when we got married.
This place we're in -- both the literal place and the metaphorical -- reflect all the places we have been. I think we are more forgiving, more patient, more nurturing with one another because of those parenting years.
As we move forward in our lives as parents of adult children, I will remind us all: stay present, make space between your emotions and your reactions, and practice self care.
After all these years, perhaps I am finally learning how to parent myself.
This place we're in -- both the literal place and the metaphorical -- reflect all the places we have been. I think we are more forgiving, more patient, more nurturing with one another because of those parenting years.
As we move forward in our lives as parents of adult children, I will remind us all: stay present, make space between your emotions and your reactions, and practice self care.
After all these years, perhaps I am finally learning how to parent myself.
you helped to make those young men into grown men you are proud of. They didn't do it themselves, and you should be proud of the result. I never had the gift of kids, and in looking back, for very many reasons, I think it was a wise choice for us.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day, Lisa. Long may you wave.