Am I Really That Embarrassing?
I can still remember the day she was born…like it was yesterday. She was so tiny, only 5 pounds, 2 ounces. But now, she’s a middle schooler and much more independent.
I also remember going to have lunch with her at elementary school and the excitement on her face when she saw “mommy” walk through the door. She’d run and give me a HUGE hug and her little friends would do the same. They’d yell, “Justices mommy is here!” The teacher would have to calm the class down.
Last week I surprised my now middle school daughter for lunch at school. She grinned, but didn’t show the same excitement she use to. I know she was happy to have me there, she just expresses it in a different way. Her friends (now young ladies) no longer yelled, “Justices mommy!” Now I’m greeted with smiles and little wave. “Hello Mrs. Tazewell,” they’d say. As we sat at the lunch table my daughter hardly noticed my existence. She spent most of her time chatting with her friends. I realized my little girl, now a young lady, had moved on to another stage in her life. When lunch was over, I knew better to not give her a hug. Heavens, I didn’t want to embarrass her.
As I drove home I thought about what had just happened. Sure, I was a little sad…mommy wasn’t the center of her world anymore. It made me realize that this was just the beginning. Next would be high school, then she’d leave and go to college. At the same time I was also happy for her. Happy that she had blossomed into such a beautiful, wonderful, independent, young woman. I guess I can take some pride in having a hand in that. Maybe all those surprise lunch visits over the years made more of an impact than I’ll ever know.
After that experience, I didn’t know WHEN I’d have lunch with her again. However, on the ride home after school she said something that made me realize my little girl wasn’t gone yet. She said, “Mom, next time you come can you bring Zaxbys? That was so good!” Hmmm. Next time. In my mind I thought…”she said NEXT TIME.” I smiled. Next time I’ll surprise her with Zaxbys. Yeh, next time.
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Comments
This is a great post…I really enjoyed experiencing your experience with you…especially as a mom to be! It reminds me of how important all moments are and to treasure them!
Isn’t motherhood interesting? When we’re kids we think we know it all and when we become adults we realize how much we still have to learn. Parenting doesn’t come with a handbook, we learn as we go and try to make the best choices for our children.
Quality one on one time is so important. I’ll share more about “quality time” in my next blog.
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[...] September 3, 2008 at 11:45 am This is a cute story about a mother, her daughter and lunch. Sharon Tazell made a surprised visit at her daughter’s school and things weren’t as normal as she realizes [...]