FOR THE MOMS WHO ARE LEARNING TO LET GO ONE “BRAKE” AT A TIME

true story

BRAKE!

With a 15.5 year old in the house who just got his temporary license a couple weeks ago I seem to be saying that word a lot lately….and I mean A LOT!! For example….yesterday as said boy was driving me to run my errands after work we pull into our local Big Lots…I scope the lot looking for the perfect spot that’s not too complicated but not one that’s super easy either. I mean our objective here is to teach these half child/half adult people we created how to operate this death trap called a car as responsibly as we can!!! He takes the turn down the aisle pretty well but my foot was still pressing that invisible brake pedal!! I tell him to pick a space to the right….but somewhere between that and him leading us to said parking space he “glides” to the right Instead of “turning” and all I see is a parked car he is heading for! I’m screaming BRAKE, BRAKE, BRAKE!! Thank God he did just that, although it seemed like a damn eternity till the car actually came to a stop!!! So we sat there 2 inches from the other cars bumper while I’m trying to recover from having a massive anxiety attack while my little man in the backseat is cracking up laughing like it’s the best show on earth and this half child/half adult that is behind the wheel calmly turns to me and tells me that I need to chill out! After another 30 seconds of deep breathing I am able to guide him back and step by step teach this boy how to park!!! Upon getting out of the car I realize we have a captivating audience and one woman in particular is sitting in her car laughing at us completely enjoying the show we gave! We smiled that secret smile us moms give one another and myself and my minions happily went on our merry way and got our shopping done!

the realization

I didn’t give the moment too much more thought until later as I was laying in bed drifting off when the word BRAKE! re-invaded my thoughts and how much meaning it really has. We watch our kids grow at what seems like an insurmountable slowness when they are young and dependent on us for everything and then one day BAM….you want to slow it down and BRAKE! as they get older and less dependent. Never have I wanted time to slow down more than I do right now! It literally seems like just yesterday they were small wobbly toddlers with mouths full of baby teeth and sticky fingers and today they are nowhere near the resemblance of those teeny tots but of young men whose voices are changing by the day! I’m now just the bookends in the morning and at night and to be totally honest, now that school is out for the summer it’s them putting me to bed first on most nights instead of the other way around. It’s those moments that I want to slam on the BRAKE! and eternally keep it there! As I played that scene again and those words played over In my head I couldn’t help but wish I had the superpower to slow down time and cherish every moment we had and even the ones I’d missed. I wish I could BRAKE! time like I can that pedal in the car so those moments would never have rushed by so fast. I know as parents we hear it all the time how fast it goes and it really, really does and from my own personal experience we usually don’t see it until it’s passed.

press the brake!

So Moms and Dads just stop and BRAKE! for all the special moments, the magical moments, the crazy all out shouting and pulling your hair out moments, the sad moments and even the moments that seem insignificant that you don’t think are anything at all because in the end they all are special and they all matter!! So when your half child on the way to becoming an adult just wants your attention, or a needs a hug, wants to talk or just wants to “take a drive”, don’t just gas it and let it fly by….press the BRAKE! and enjoy the ride!!

xoxo

Kathy