I can't put her in a bubble, or encase her in amber to never change. All I can do is try to teach her the lessons I think will help her have an incredible life, then offer my guidance along the way. I'll watch her stumble. I'll see her make mistakes. I'll wonder time and time again where I could have been better.
I cannot, however, live her life for her.
There is a flip side to the moments that make me wonder. There will be moments, like graduation, that make me swell with pride.
I'll see her excel. I'll watch her win. I'll cheer her attempts and victories as loudly as I can. And I'll wonder what I did right that helped her along the way.
In the midst of enjoying her success, and marking this milestone, I repeatedly stumbled over the fact that many of the other parents, including TheBetterHalf®, referred to the ceremony as a graduation. I have a hard time using that word. She'll be at the same school next year, after all. So she's not really graduating from anything.
I did my best not to be a curmudgeon about the use of the word. I'm sure I failed at it many times.
The fact that TheBetterHalf® thought of it as a graduation, however, led to some incredible decorations. She (with a very little bit of help from yours truly) painted pots to be used as little chalk boards. And she then planted flowers donated by our favorite garden in them. She also created special potted plants as gifts for the teachers.
Some days I think she's the creative one in this relationship. I just happen to get paid for mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment