Life Lessons

I became a mother three years ago. It was the scariest and most fulfilling thing I have ever experienced. I am not saying that every day is perfect. It is not. It is challenging and terrifying. One of the best parts, though, is the opportunity that it has given me to get to know my own mother not just as "Mom", but as a friend and someone who has been there and done that when it comes to the challenges I am just learning to embrace. She has answered questions about teething, temper tantrums and everything in between. If she didn't know the answer, my grandmother did.

Before my grandmother passed, we three would sit and watch my daughter and know that she was a part of all of us. My daughter is named after my grandmother and my mother. They were the ones who reassured me when she didn't start walking until well after all of the other children in her daycare class. When my grandmother was dying, my daughter was the one who could make all of us laugh just by making a funny baby face or sound. She was just a toddler, but she knew she had to be gentle with great-grandma, and she would sit quietly and pat her. She already knew that sometimes just being there is all you can do.

I recently gave birth to a son. He is just as beautiful and perfect as his sister. Now, I ask my father questions. I only hope that someday my children will be able to rely on me and my parents the way I have relied on my parents and grandmother.