And The Beat Goes On

When the doctor laid first laid a little tiny person in my arms and told me I had to take him home with me....I was beyond scared. I was just a kid not far beyond my 18th birthday. I'd only had my driver's license for less than 2 years - I hadn't even voted yet. What if I broke him?

What were they thinking?

Yet, here it is almost 30 years later and he still has all of his major body parts. A scratch hear and there but relatively still intact. His sister came along two years later, and by then I thought I had it all fiigured out! How difficult could one more be? It didn't take long to find out - and it didn't take long to figure it out! She was, and always has been, a pistol and a half - her own person inside and out! She is still as beautiful as the day she was born - just a heck of a lot taller!

My husband gave me a son 17 years ago to care for - he was the cutest little bug at 7 years old when I met him at Walmart. Rich sure knew how to play the I've-got-a-cute-kid card along with the I'm-a-hard-working-single-dad card...I fell hook, line and sinker in love with both of them! Another benefit was another son on the west coast. I wouldn't meet him for several years later but my heart was already his and I hoped one day his would be mine.

It's been a marriage of ups and downs; mostly ups. Rich and I did our best to raise all of our children to be successful in their own right, responsible, loving & caring adults. We ended up doing just what we set out to do - or they ended up that way in spite of us.

Our youngest is getting ready to finally leave the nest and fly into his future with everything he has. As his mother I still see him as that little boy. Recently he was telling me about his plans and that it was time for him to follow his dream and go -  I caught myself for the first time looking at my son and realizing that he had grown up. He was an adult now...a grown man. How and when did that happen? Where did it all go?

The heartbeats that were once strong and loud when we were one big crazy family - the time when money was slim and we talked around the dining room table, had bonfires in the backyard, traveled together, and just lived....grow fainterwith each passing into adulthood. A sign that my husband and I have done the best we could with what we had...and most of the time all we had had was love beyond measure for our children. It's also a sign that we are getting older as they get older and half of our life is over. For now...our hearts continue to beat for the joy of seeing who our children have and are becoming; for the families they have and will have. It goes on - long after we are gone.

Peace.