Mile Markers

You've seen a mile marker before, I know. They mark the road to tell you how far you've come on your journey down a particular road. Sometimes you watch them tick by- if you're bored or really concentrating on the trip. Sometimes they zip by you unnoticed, until the next thing you know, you're a lot further down the road than you knew.

Parenting, I've learned, is a journey down a long, and winding road. There are many mile markers along the path- first smile/steps/words, first day of school, riding a bike without training wheels..... and so on and so on. Sometimes, you really notice these milestones and celebrate them. Sometimes they slip by, and just seem like part of the day-to-day scenery. After you've seen trees or mountains or corn fields for hours, you start to take them for granted. "Yeah, another field, another pretty view..."

Well, I know I've dozed off on the parenting trip, been so busy that I didn't notice some important things, been too stressed to really appreciate all those little moments, but I'm wide awake and fully aware of the "big" things that are happening and about to happen in my house in the upcoming months.

Tomorrow, my youngest "baby" begins high school! I sat here tonight and remembered the day I stood with him on the elementary school playground waiting for the bell to ring so he could go into kindergarten. I had tears in my eyes and was trying not to cry. He looked so big and yet so small, and he was a little nervous but a lot excited. He was so proud to be going to school like his brother and sister! Where has time gone? How is it possible that little boy is now going off to high school with his dad tomorrow? With this realization, also comes the other that if all those years went by so quickly and right under my nose, than these next few will go even faster, and it will all be over before I have had time to take it all in.

This week, my middle "baby" and only baby girl, will start her IB journey; a road trip of her own that will prepare her for rigorous academic work, for college, and for whatever path she allows God to lead her down. She will begin the long trip of looking at, comparing, and choosing her college and her adult work field. I don't know what path she's going to take, but I look forward to watching her make those choices in the next year or two. And hopefully to being able to be a part of that process with her. It will soon be her time to prepare for graduation and all those "big" moments that are just waiting on the sidelines for her.

This week, my oldest "baby" will enter high school for his last year- a senior. How can this be? He is 17 and has made his career & college choices. We've had his senior picture day and received his proofs; now we have to order our first set of senior pictures. Soon will follow graduation announcements or invites or whatever they're called now. He will soon have to enter the adult world; he will have to find a way to fund a used car and insurance before this school year is out, and by next summer he will need to be working full time so he can pay for his expenses and his first year of college. This year I will get to help him apply for college and financial aid. It really hits me funny! It was 20 years ago that I was a senior in high school, and my mom was going through all these important events, plus she was helping me to plan and pay for a wedding. YIKES!!! How my momma must have felt! Robert will graduate almost 20 years to the day from when I did.

Yeah, I'm not missing these mile markers! I see them, and I'm counting them go by one by one; they fly by faster and faster with each year my kids have grown. Here in our city, the mile markers count down the 1/10s of miles in the city; that's how I feel right now. I feel like I'm watching every little bit of the road go zipping by me at a fast pace. I hope I can make these next few weeks, months, last years be the best for all of us. I hope I can cram so many memories in all of our minds so we'll have them to cherish down the road when we're somewhere else on the path of life.

Sometimes the parenthood journey has been hard, even painful. I've felt like a lousy parent so many times I can't even count them all. There have been times, the scenery wasn't so pretty and the path we were travelling on got really hard. But this has been the most rewarding journey I could have ever taken. The rewards and enjoyment have far and beyond outweighed the trials and hardships. When my children move on down their own paths, I know we will still meet on the road and still see each other- maybe at rest areas, maybe at campgrounds, maybe just waving at each other as they pass me by in the fast lane. :) I'll miss them terribly; my house will be so quiet and boring without them, but I know I'll adjust to that part of my journey too. I'll learn to enjoy that scenery. I will get to see things and go places on my journey that I haven't gotten to yet because I was a mom. I'll be able to tell my kids about my new trip and can share things with them as they begin their parenthood journey.

But for now, I'm just going to enjoy this last leg of my "mommy" trip. The end is getting closer. And, yes, kids, "We're almost there now."