This week's prompt for Sally over at The Studio Sublime is unquestionably the hardest one yet - for me, anyway!
"You are,......."
We were instructed to "give yourself the positive reinforcement you deserve. Take a moment to think about who YOU are, what makes you a wonderful person."
This is such a great prompt, but boy did it have me stumped!
Lately I've been thinking, mostly because my son keeps reminding me, that the time he has left at home with us before he graduates high school and goes 'off into the world' is very limited. It's something like 750 some odd days,....he's got it counted out to the day he turns 18, which will be a month after he graduates high school.
I keep ignoring the number because I don't want to think about not having him at home all the time.
He's unsure exactly what it is that he wants to do when he 'grows up'. He has wanted to be in the Military (a Marine to be specific) since he was just a tiny thing and could barely say the word. He would play 'army' all the time and he's watched the military and history channels so much that even I can tell you what type of ammo goes with what type of gun or what missile what tank or aircraft is armed with and for which war or operation we've used it in.
He's now mentioning college; saying maybe it would be better (pay wise, etc.) to enter the Marines after college, even though he's unclear on what he wants to get a degree in.
We don't push him hard in either direction (maybe that's not such a good thing at times), but instead tell him to follow his heart and his dreams, to reach inside and find who he is and do what he needs to do for himself - not for anyone else. We're there for him and talk to him about planning for his future, even though it scares the daylights out of both Mike and me, knowing so many of the things he's going to face out in 'the real world'.
But, you have to let them go.
Let them be who they're going to be.
You always wonder if you're giving your children the guidance they need. The guidance they want. The guidance they deserve. You wonder if you've done all the basic things like teach them good manners, show them how to clean their rooms/bathrooms, do their laundry, cook (Logan does all but the cooking thing - he still likes Mom to do that!), keep track of their money and be wise with their purchases, be considerate of others, be respectful. And the list goes on,.....
This week's prompt had me complete stumped until last night when we were sitting at dinner with some friends up here in the mountains (where we spend as much time each summer as we can) and the conversation between myself and my friend Mary went something like this:
Shelly: So Mary, are you ready to get rid of your 'extra' child? Is Logan ever going to come home or are you adopting him? (he's spent every night over at Mary's - which is just about a mile down the road - w/her kids since we arrived this past Tuesday )
Mary: (as she laughs at my comment) Oh, Shelly, I just have to tell you how wonderful it is to have Logan with us. He's such a joy. Out of all the kids, when I tell them to do work for me out at the barn or around the house, he's the first one to get up and get the other kids doing what I've told them - it's working out really good! And, he's always polite and he helps keep the sibling jabs and quarrels down to a minimum too. Which has been really nice lately - trust me!
So, as we were all getting up to leave Tal Wi Wi Lodge (yes, it really is called Tal Wi Wi - you can follow the link, here!) Logan walks over and puts his arm around my shoulder and hugs me and says;
"Mama, I love you. Thanks for ordering us guys our food when we went back to the cabin to pick up Dad. My onion rings were great! Oh, and I'm riding with Phillip and Will cause I'm staying at Mary's again tonight, okay?"
And right there I thought, "You are,....a good Mom!"
At least I felt like a good Mama, with his arm around me and his cute face with that silly little grin looking down upon me!
I was in Mama heaven!
I'm soooo gonna miss my 'baby' in two more years.
Or 738 days,...to be exact.
Please take some time to hop on over to The Studio Sublime and see what everyone else 'got to snappin' for this week's prompt!
And, thank you Sally. Each week of this photo challenge is an exploration of the world around me,...not to mention an exploration of me personally! It's an incredible journey and I'm glad I'm along for the ride!
Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Being a Good Mom!
Cheers,
~Shel~
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