I couldn’t wait for my son to start talking. I would look at his sweet little baby face and imagine what his tiny voice would sound like. I would be brought to tears just thinking about him saying “mommy” for the first time. Once he started saying it, I couldn’t get enough. Of course now that he is three, the whiney, screaming version of my name makes me want to cringe, but overall it’s still my favorite sound in the world.
On a recent family vacation I was brought to tears again at the sound of my name – but this time for a different reason. My big boy learned how to jump into the pool by himself and just seemed so grown up that week. As I was reflecting on this during an afternoon swim, I heard him call out for me – “Hey, Mom!”
Wait. A. Minute. That is NOT my name. I am Mommy. You are three. We are most definitely not finished with “Mommy” yet… are we?
During pregnancy and throughout this early stage of motherhood, everyone told me time would fly. What they didn’t tell me is how incredibly painful it can be. Of course I am thrilled my children are growing up happy and healthy, but the amount of change that happens, sometimes even overnight, is so unbearable at times. How did I so quickly go from “Mama” to “Mommy” and now to just “Mom?!” I mean, that’s what I call my mom!
Thankfully, this was a one-time event. I haven’t heard that one syllable heart breaker since and I hope it stays away for a while. Maybe I overreacted, but it seemed to put an exclamation point on a thought I had been having the past few weeks. My baby boy was not only not a baby anymore, but he wasn’t really a toddler either. He was now a kid. I don’t know about you, but “kid” doesn’t have the same heart warming feel to it as “baby” or “toddler.” It also means we have all kinds of scary things ahead – answering (at his level) all of the questions he will ask about life, making friends, sports, school, homework, getting his license, prom… okay, I took it too far. But you get the point.
Thankfully, there is a glass half-full approach. As much as the future scares me, this kid brings SO much joy to our lives. He makes jokes (and fortunately still laughs at mine), sings songs, has conversations, wants to learn about everything and says, “I love you.” He may eventually only call me “Mom,” but I’ll take all of the “I love you’s” I can get. And when it gets tough, thank goodness for the countless videos of that tiny voice. The voice I will probably always hear, even when he’s all grown up.
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