Come Spring

As spring gently coaxes open the gorgeous, vibrant blooms of her waking flowers, I am reminded of the beauty that is the journey into motherhood. I watch my still pre-pre adolescent daughter playing with her dolls and know that her childhood days are numbered. Soon she will awaken to a new stage of life, much like the once dormant flowers that blossom in the warmth of the spring. She will change into a curvaceous, delicate woman, shedding her once clumsy, scraped up shell. I will try to guide her into the enigma that is womanhood, offering encouragement and a shoulder to cry on when the need arises.

She will know the airy joy that comes with first love. She will suffer the heart wrenching blow of her first break up. I will celebrate and grieve with her. We will fight fiercely as she tries to exert her independence and have her own way. She will call me the enemy as her hormones rage. I will lay in bed and sob for the carefree days we shared not so long ago. I will sit up and worry obsessively when she is even one minute late arriving home from dates. I will urge her to spread her wings and soar. Then I will shed tears of joy and sadness as I watch her leave the safety of our nest, to venture out on her own.

I will be there for her victories and trials. I will stand for her at her wedding, as she comes down the aisle, on the arm of her proud daddy. I will look on, in complete awe, as she delivers her first child, as if I have never experienced the miracle childbirth before that day. I will revel in the sweetness of my grandchildren. I will cherish the new dimension of my relationship with my daughter. The dimension that can only come from the role of motherhood and the profound understanding that occurs when you hold a tiny baby in your arms, vowing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe and well. We will attain a deep and meaningful friendship. It will be the reward that I've waited for since holding her for the first time. It will be the bond that cannot be broken. It will be motherhood, come full circle.