“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is the question I would ask each one of my boys the night before the first day of school so I could fill out their sign for their first day of school picture. “Mom, I want to be Lego engineer or I want to be a banker like Daddy, or I want to be a veterinarian” were some of the professions I wrote over the years.” Every time we talked about what our eldest son wanted to do, we knew early on engineering was his jam because he would ask for Legos, or various building kits for every birthday and holiday. He always loved to do the sets by himself without any adult help and becoming a grown-up is no different. He wants to be independent, and we want him to be, but we are mourning how fast the time has gone.
When I heard a parent once say that the days are long, but the years are short, I didn’t understand. Now that we have an 18-year-old, we completely understand that phrase. Over the last few months, we have been celebrating many lasts, but we have a lot of first too like when he was little. For example, like when he first walked and his first words but now, they are his first crush and his first time driving on his own.
Time has seemed to elude us but feels so much more precious as the days of childhood end and adulthood begins for this young man. The moment we had children; our hearts started to beat outside of our chests. It’s hard to fathom that this tiny human is now this wonderful, albeit grouchy human being, who we love and drives us nuts.
This year we have celebrated last first day of school, last soccer games, last district and county band concerts, last robotics competitions, and more to come. While it feels like a sad time it truly is a joyful time. My husband would say “I would like my wife back” and I understand why, us mamas pour everything we have into our children. Don’t get me wrong, my husband and I go out on dates and spend quality time together and love to hang out together.
We are looking forward to celebrating more firsts. First day of college, first time he can vote, first love (I know this one will be hard, since I was the first woman in his life), first semester away from home and many we aren’t even considering. Seeing our young man take flight will be one of our greatest joys. We will worry but it’s time to let him go and let him experience life, make his own mistakes, and let him celebrate his own victories. We are sad to see you go but know that if we did our job, you will be fine, more than fine, you will thrive! We love you to the moon and back infinity times, Jackson!