Always your Baby

There is a saying that once you become a mom you will always see your children as a baby.  E, is 16 years old and doing typical teenage things and all I can do is look at him and see the baby he once was.  Some days it breaks my heart because I am not ready for him to be a young man, but other days I know I have to have faith in the person he is.

Pray

I think parents create their own dreams and aspirations for their children. As they grow up it is hard to see them make mistakes or have a lapse in judgment. We doubt our parenting throughout their whole life and just pray for them to be good people. You pray that something you have guided them toward is where they will go but no parent can be too sure.  They are destined to be themselves.

Parental Judgment

I read an article recently about how the people your children become is a reflection of the parent you are. If your child is misbehaving, has poor manners, or just has a different personality to yours that it is because you failed as a parent.  I don’t believe that. I believe that we guide our children and gear them up for who they were always destined to be.  This means to me that you can have a different parenting style and it will be just fine.  There is no true handbook on being a parent.  Stop letting others dictate the parent you are and do what you feel is best.  Your best may not always be good enough, but at least you followed your heart. Remember you are human too. 

Teenagers-Soon to be Adults
Being the mom of a teenager is like watching your once teenage self.  You worry they will make the same mistakes you did and you want so very much to protect them.  I think we forget that our past mistakes made us the people that we are and we turned out quite alright.  We aren't meant to raise someone perfect.  We are meant to guide them to make good decisions and we are meant to watch them grow.  They will be the person they are destined to be.  They will remember what core values they were taught and they will apply most of them to life.  You had a part in that.  You may not always make the right decisions or even act like the perfect parent, but to your child you have done the best you could and they will be grateful for the life lessons you have taught them.  My best advice being a mom to a teenager is to remember when you were that teenager and give them the space to make mistakes.  They will learn from them.  There is no amount of bubble wrap that will protect them from experiencing a broken heart, a broken bone, or even just experiencing anything other than complete happiness.  They are human too.