Letting Go
In 2 weeks, Neil will be 5 years old. Just saying that makes me feel nostalgic about the "days of yore." I know all parents can relate to this sentiment. Whenever I look at his old pictures and videos, I just feel that he has grown so much and I am overwhelmed with the feeling that his childhood is going by too fast, for me. This is why I take pictures, record videos, and blog. It is an attempt to freeze these fleeting moments for future remembrance. But more importantly, it is important to be in the moment and appreciate every single day of seeing this little person grow and develop. Thank you God for the gift of parenthood.
I read a post on Letting Go by Sarah Anderson from Orange Parents this week that captures how I feel about these moments. I am quoting her below.
Parenting regularly generates these unexpected and puzzling moments when the child you thought you understood appears foreign, unrecognizable—a near stranger. Suddenly, you feel as though you are being reintroduced to your own offspring, left wondering when they stopped being who you knew so well and became an altogether new person.
Babies have a tendency to do this. To grow. To move on without our acknowledgment, acceptance or approval. Still, they do it. They leave. They move out of our bounds and create their identities. They maneuver out of our reach and relish their space. They abandon the idea we created of them in order to be more of who they were meant to be. And rarely do they do it with us in mind.
I am learning that if I want to parent well—and with longevity—I will let go of my children in order to develop with them. I will parent in motion. I will be a student of my kids and have a long term perspective of them that will allow me to hold more loosely to the stages of childhood I don’t want to forego.
Parent in motion. I like that.
I read a post on Letting Go by Sarah Anderson from Orange Parents this week that captures how I feel about these moments. I am quoting her below.
Parenting regularly generates these unexpected and puzzling moments when the child you thought you understood appears foreign, unrecognizable—a near stranger. Suddenly, you feel as though you are being reintroduced to your own offspring, left wondering when they stopped being who you knew so well and became an altogether new person.
Babies have a tendency to do this. To grow. To move on without our acknowledgment, acceptance or approval. Still, they do it. They leave. They move out of our bounds and create their identities. They maneuver out of our reach and relish their space. They abandon the idea we created of them in order to be more of who they were meant to be. And rarely do they do it with us in mind.
I am learning that if I want to parent well—and with longevity—I will let go of my children in order to develop with them. I will parent in motion. I will be a student of my kids and have a long term perspective of them that will allow me to hold more loosely to the stages of childhood I don’t want to forego.
Parent in motion. I like that.
July 2012 - June 2013, One photo per month
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