Mom-to-Mimi...the transition

I guess it is time to explain the title of this blog - Mom-to-Mimi. Actually, if my thoughts appeared in any sort of coherent and logical fashion I would have 'splained this first rather than as my third post! But, as any mid-lifer knows our brains are pinging around way too much to put things down in sequential order. Mom-to-Mimi describes the transition time that I am living through right now. I am the mother of 3 - a daughter who is 27, married, and a mother of two; a son who is 25, married, and the father of two; and a 17 year old high school senior. So, my years as "mom" are very quickly drawing to a close. Oh, I know that I will always be a mother to my children. But, as some of you may know, our day-to-day mom-ness is no longer needed. We see our grown children on a less frequent basis, and of course they don't want or need any advice from us. They don't need us to wash their favorite shirt or sign their school reports or drive them to any sports events. This is the time of life when grown children become our friends, not our responsibility. Yet for me, I am still clinging to my last child who is at home, because the mom-ness doesn't just go away when the children get taller than us. So what do I do with all the great advice and care and concern that is still such a major part of who I am? Well, it has to go somewhere so I started this blog. Just a place to blow off some steam and put down some thoughts that come to me randomly.

To be truthful, I cry more now than ever. Over silly things, really. I had to concoct a senior salute to my baby for his yearbook, and while I am certainly not the world's greatest writer the words on the page just made me cry. It all seems so final now, even though graduation is still several months away. But it is out there...kind of like when Sally told Harry "but I'm going to be 40!" And Harry said "yeah, but when?" And Sally said "Someday. It's just sitting out there like a big old dead end." I know that we are not supposed to wish our lives away by thinking about the future, but the end of being Mom daily makes me afraid for what the future holds. My children, while oftentimes frustrating and frequently sassy, have been my companions for the past 27 years. That is how long I have been wiping bottoms and noses and doing laundry and homework and going to every conceivable sporting event and dance recital. Waiting up until all hours, just to be sure that they made it home safe. Nagging and complaining and offering advice up to thin air, because certainly no one seemed to be listening! Oh what I wouldn't give to be able to turn back the clock and undo some of the mistakes I made as a young, frustrated mother.

Fortunately for us, though, God does provide us a way to being again - a do-over, if you will. He brings us grandchildren! And what a fountain of unconditional love and joy they bring. We play, we read, we run, we giggle...and then they go home. My children, now Mom and Dad, get the unenviable task of discipline and late-night sickness and bills and all the stuff that wasn't such fun. I get the fun part - love and hugs and smiles a mile wide. You know, when people work for a company for say, 25 or 30 years, they often get a retirement gift of a gold watch or some other token representing their years of service. I think grandchildren beat a gold watch any day of the week - they are the "mom retirement" gift that we get when our kids go out into the world and make families of their own.

Whew...this went on forever! LONG story short, Mom-to-Mimi gives this chick somewhere to spill out all my mom stuff until the pixies are old enough to wonder what I was before I became just their Mimi. What a blessing God provided when He gave me children and grandchildren - they are to be cherished always!

Lana