Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Next Fifteen Years (GBE# 36 Topic: TIME)

"Hi!  My name is Nathan and I'm gonna be a soldier when I grow up!"

These were the first words my son ever said to me.  He was three, very small for his age with a shaggy mop of blond hair.  His enormous blue eyes were framed by the longest lashes I had ever seen.  Seriously.... women pay huge sums of money to achieve what this little guy came by naturally.

He couldn't pronounce my name.  He called me Stephtee--a name I still use today.

It wasn't love at first sight--for either of us.  I had absolutely no experience with children.  Nathan was used to being cared for by his grandmother.  After Jeff and Nathan's mother went their separate ways, Jeff's mother assumed most of the parenting duties while Jeff was working.  It took some time before Jeff and I figured out what type of parents we wanted to be and we definitely made lots of mistakes along the way.

But without even realizing it, one day I just felt like a mom.

My own mom is actually my step-mother.  My father always taught me "There is no such thing as step".  My mom is my mom.  My sisters are my sisters.  We are a family.  Once I was pregnant with Addy, I knew that was a rule we needed to embrace.

In our house,  there is no such thing as step AND there are no half-siblings. 

We are a family.  Plain and simple.

I never asked Nathan to call me 'Mom'...in fact, he used to call both his moms by their first names.  Shortly after Bear was born, Nathan asked me if he should start calling me 'Mom'.  I told him that it didn't matter what he called me because I knew, in my heart, that I was his mom.

When he hugged me and told me that he'd decided to start calling me 'Mom', I cried.  It was, to date, one of the happiest moments of my life.

Twelve years...three more kids...a million arguments....laughter....joy....tears....and, occasionally....some fun.  Where does the time go?

Tuesday, my oldest son is turning fifteen!  The blonde hair has since turned to brown but he still has some of the bluest eyes around (rivaled only by his little brother).  Those lashes are still long and full...so much that they rub against his glasses when he blinks--which drives him nuts.  More importantly, he's turned into such a smart, funny, and interesting young man.

I'm amazed by how quickly the time is passing and how fast my little boy is growing up.

I can't wait to see how he turns out.

Bring on the next fifteen years!!

(No pics because....you know....he's too cool to have his picture taken these days)

10 comments:

  1. Seriously, you thought he might let you post a picture of him HERE?  lol Nope, not if he can help it!  I love teen-age boys, they are very different than teen-age girls, which I was once.  
    I'm happy you have created a nice family and actually grew one!  It's not always a success and it's good to know sometimes it works!

    ♥  good job Mommy.

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  2. Lovely and touching post. I'm happy for you and for your family that you all "blended" so well.

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  3. Sylvia Colette BranchJanuary 28, 2012 at 4:59 PM

    so sweet, and very true, about families and.... yep, bring it on!   (love your attitude)

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  4. I have no idea how time stretches and contracts... at the same time! Surely it was only yesterday my little boy was sitting on my floor, covered in doughnut jam, my happy little Buddha baby? Yet I am preparing for his 18th birthday in a couple of months! How can that stretch of time be so long and yet gone in the blink of an eye? What I do know is, he will always be my 'baby'. Have you ever noticed, no matter how tall kids grow, Mum is somehow taller than them when they need mum's love, a hug in her arms? It's physically impossible, but my son, towering over me at six feet plus, becomes the size of a toddler when he needs that hug and fits perfectly.... It isn't just time that's a funny thing. This post was beautiful, Steph.

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  5. Time certainly stretches and bends and zooms when you're a parent.  I remember how long the sleepless nights were, with a new baby, and then pfffft!  Little League uniforms, graduations - WTF?!

    Congratulations on creating a warm and lovely family.  Enjoy the time you have with them all.  :-)

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  6. Time really does fly by.  I look at all my kids and it really seems like  only yesterday they were sooo small!

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  7. Thank you!  I'm still amazed that my Nathan is almost as tall as I am.  He can look me in the eye!  This kid was so small that when he was 4, people would mistake him for a 2 year old.  Then one day, he just shot right up!

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  8. For sure, every day is not sunshine and rainbows (especially now with all the teenage angst going on) but he's a great kid and I'm fortunate to have him.

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  9. I think we blended so well because we all had the "right" attitude.  Once I knew we were going to be a family, I never looked at him and felt "that's not my child".  I never looked at the children I physically gave birth to as more than him.  Jeff never looked at any of the children differently.  They are all ours.

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  10. Nah...I never had any thoughts that he might let me post a picture of him LOL.  Anytime I even point a camera in his direction, he turns the other way.  I have a bunch of recent pics of the back of his hoodie though :-)

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