I was in an exam room, getting ready to listen to fetal heart tones and give the family the guided tour (this is the baby's head, there is the butt, there is the back - feel?) when my pager went off. "Great", I thought, "what now?". It was my husband texting me to say "Should I make reservations at Moritomo for dinner?". I had been thinking that I would get home around 6:30, make some tuna casserole, eat the leftover cupcakes made by our daughter, and try to get to bed at a semi-civilized hour. Dinner out at my favorite Japanese restaurant? Why not!
I had forgotten that we had given our daughter permission to spend the night at her friend's house that Friday night. So there we were, just the two of us, out for a romantic dinner together. Sushi, miso soup, sauteed scallops and shrimp/vegetable tempura, and lots of sake. And home to a house with no other humans present.
Yes, in a few years we will have no children at home. The thought is bittersweet. I already miss the baby and child mothering experience. I do not yet have grandchildren, and sometimes I wonder if I will ever be blessed with them. There are days when I am glad that part of my life is past, and days when I fiercely miss the unconditional love and utter dependance of small children. My oldest is 28 now, and I still remember her baby face and toddler steps.
You with infants and toddlers, I know that life is often too busy and hectic to appreciate the gift God has given you in your children. Allow me to appreciate them for you, and when you are older, pass it on to the next generation. May all the saints who were mothers be with us as we watch our children grow away from us. Grant that we may have the ability to gift them with roots and wings, and the discretion to know which to use and when.
