The Mystery of Parenting (Mother's Day, part 2)

I was sitting with the baby, conversing with her in coos and smiles, when I glimpsed a sudden flash of the future: my little girl, dressed in a beautiful dress, walking down the aisle on her wedding day.

Her wedding day?! Why am I thinking about her wedding day?! That's so far away! At least twenty years…

Then it hit me. Twenty years. 

T W E N T Y   Y E A R S

Whoa. Will I make it that long?

And that's just the minimum; it doesn't include all of adulthood.

But then I think about my oldest son. He will turn fifteen this summer. We just sent in his application for the local community college. Fifteen years with him has flown by, faster than I could have imagined. The next fifteen will fly by too, like a pleasant dream that ends too soon.

Parenting, like marriage, is a mystery. It feels like an eternity, and the blink of an eye. It's the most difficult thing I've ever done, yet the easiest. It takes all my commitment and sacrifice, yet gives me so much more in return. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas!