Where Did The Time Go?

I remember when I would hear people older than me talk about how fast time would go by. When I was younger, the weekend went by very fast. It would feel like I had been waiting for weeks before the weekend would come. Now, it feels like we have a weekend every three days. I have joined that crowd of older people.

I talked with a friend today who has been through the different phases of watching her children grow. She now has experienced them get married, move out of the house, and even learn to share the real estate space in their hearts with their spouses. I often go to her as a mentor, who can help me maneuver through some of the growing pains. I found myself trying to catch tears as we met in a cafe, dabbing my eyes as I tried to share my thoughts.

I remember thinking that being a young mom or seeing my child go to school or ride a bus for the first time were the hard days. Oh no, I would have lots of other hard times too. As they get older it doesn't get easier. It changes. No one ever told me, that I can recall at least, that I would have to learn how to change how I parented. Yes, it's true that it doesn't take the genius to figure out that you can't treat your child the same way when he is two years old as he is when he is 20 years old. However, the same two year old might do something that the twenty-year-old will do and you have to come at the parenting approach from a different direction. With the two-year-old you show them how you want them to respond. With the twenty-year-old you sit back and you cross your fingers, bite your tongue, and pray that they remember what you taught them back when they were toddlers. It's parenting different. You may see your baby as that little boy but the mirror (and the calendar) don't lie.