Parenting an Adult Child

It’s easy as a mom to get lost in the mundane, repetitive, ins and outs of cleaning the house as it is simultaneously messed up again, washing dishes when dinner is finally cooking only to realize more dishes come right after dinner, and preparing lunches/laundry/love for the next day.  I will not say I savor any of the small, present frustrations, but I do realize that they are just that – small and temporary.

The first moment I held my eldest son, I remember feeling overwhelming love...the very second moment, however, I caught a tear on my cheek as I thought "He's going to grow hair on his face one day".  To me, that moment was anticipating all the worries and concerns my child would one day face, and also my own heartache that I realized would inevitably follow.  Susan Engel, a professor at my alma mater, wrote this article for the NYTimes on just such concerns about parenting an adult child.

Fortunately for me, that’s still a few years down the road.  I’m not any more excited about the day to day dole drums and dramas of the young years.  But I will practice patience, perseverance, and polite listening with all my might because bigger projects requiring these tools are coming our way, faster than I care to admit.

Thankful for the small stuff (and the smallest among us),

GT <><