Life Down Under

Letting Go

I'm convinced that parenting is an 18+ year journey in letting go.

This week I've been working on moving Samuel from sleeping in the bassinet in our room to the crib in his own room. We've kept him in our room for a long time because his room is the coldest in the house, so we had to wait until the weather warmed up enough before making the transition.

He's had his naps in his crib this week, but tonight is his first night in his own room. And part of me is a bit sad. No longer will he be sleeping right at my side every night. It sounds a bit dramatic, but it really is the first of many times in his life in which we will have to let go.....someday it will be sending him off to pre-school, then to school, then driving, then the first date...... Some parents are still letting go of their children after they're grown and married, releasing their children and grandchildren to live in foreign lands. Loving and letting go. Simultaneously. It's not necessarily easy. But it's part of life and part of parenting. Truth be told, it's the point of parenting.

Of course, watching our son move up the hall to his own room really isn't a big deal at all. But maybe I'm just a bit more aware of every phase and transition with Samuel, with the lurking thought in the recesses of my mind that this very well may be the last time I get to enjoy each of these precious "baby" phases. So I hold onto every day, every smile and giggle and little cuddle, grateful for yet another day that I get to be a mom.