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I have told Caleb from the time he was old enough to listen that no matter how big he gets, he will always be my baby. I guess I have repeated it enough, because now he can now finish the thought for me! Well, I was reminded this week that he is indeed growing up. It was the simplest of things...I taught him to play dominoes. In this particular domino game, you have to line up your dominos in a train, then play them one at a time, in turn, on the board. I tried to teach him the best I could, but he scattered his dominoes hand in no particular pattern, much less a neat line. As we played this first hand, he was pulling dominoes from all different places, in seemingly random order. I could barely stifle a laugh
Yes, I realize it was just a game, nothing important in the grand scheme of things, but the symbolism was so strong to me. These 8 1/2 years of Caleb's life have gone by faster than any in my entire life. Before long, he will be a young adult, making decisions, making mistakes, taking my advice, not taking my advice. Now I still have a lot to teach Caleb and he has a lot to learn yet, but time goes so quickly. It is a reminder of the awesome task given to every parent. Have I done enough? Will I do what I need to do between now and the time he goes into the world? Just the thought of this made me cry out to God for wisdom and guidance.
And our God, who gives to those who ask, added an extra special blessing in response to my prayer. Only about 30 minutes or so after the domino game, my Caleb shuffled into the kitchen to ask me a question. I couldn't tell you what this question was because I was too busy looking at the babyish stuffed animals this big kid was hugging close to his body. Thank you, God, for allowing me to see my little baby boy, even through the young man he is becoming. |
as I thought of the "I tried to tell you to line them up" speech I would be able to tell Caleb after the hand was finished. Weeeellll, three hands later, as Caleb beat me for the the third time
, (for those of you who are slow in Math, that means he won every hand!), I slowly realized that Caleb's way worked for him. My baby, the one who used to be dependent on me for everything, had his own way of doing some things, a way that was not my way, and it worked. What a bittersweet moment for a mom...proud and sad at the same time. I sat there and watched this young guy play what he used to call a "big people" game, make strategic moves, and win hands WITHOUT hanging on my every word. What a bittersweet moment!
May I treasure every moment.Comments
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Posted by Krista
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