As a parent one of the hardest things is finding the perfect balance between keeping our children safe and letting them go. As they get older and start having a mind of their own it gets harder and harder to keep that fine balance.
There have been numerous times in my life when I have wanted to keep my babies little, the first time was at a friends house when we were watching her wedding video and I started to cry thinking that one day my baby girl will get older and get married too, my baby girl was 11 months at the time. It was no wonder that my friends thought it quite funny that I was being so sentimental but time is a disloyal friend it goes by in a blink of an eye. My baby girl is six already and is going to start grade one this year. When she had started school I had felt weak in the knees dropping her off that first day imagining all the bullies who could hurt her on the play ground, the injustices life may throw at her but I kept a stiff upper lip and let her go knowing she will be in my loving embrace by mid morning.
When I was young myself my mom had said to me one day that she wished she could be a part of my dowry and come with me to my house when I got married, I had found that notion very funny but now I understand what she had meant. It is an illusion I guess; this idea that we can protect our kids because we really cannot no one knows what life will be like from one moment to the next but as long as they are in our arms we can dream that we will be able to keep that innocence from getting marred.
My youngest sister is almost 16 years younger to me and she too is graduating high school this year. Growing up, I felt she was more my child than my sister even now I confuse her name with my daughters name all the time to the chagrin of both.
There is so much I want to tell my sister, so many ways I want to protect her; but I know that the only way for her to learn as for all our kids to learn is through the pathway they will chart for themselves in this journey of life. We cannot always protect them and it is imperative that these young adults be given the right to explore, make mistakes and learn. I wish I had some really meaningful wise quote to say here but alas I do not.
I will however; make a silent prayer for my children and all the children of the world that whatever life throws at you, you are able to take it in stride and make the decision which are beneficial for you and the world in general. I pray that Allah protects all children and helps us to raise them well to be the best caretakers of the world we leave for them.
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