I’m Not Ready For You To Grow Up, But The Time Has Come To Loosen The Reigns

“There’s this change happening with you.

Really slowly, but also really fast.

It’s beautiful to watch but h*lla’ scary too.

To see you grow up.

To see you pull away.

To use every last bit of my willpower NOT to pull you

back into my arms,

plop your almost bigger than me body on my lap,

and rock you and sing to you.

There’s this change happening with you.

And, because of it, change is required of me.

To loosen the reigns.

To let you lead.

To follow, of course, but at a respectful distance.

Many days of the past ten years have gone by real, real slow.

But the ten years you’ve graced

this planet,

our home,

and your father and I with your presence

has gone by incredibly fast,

and to think…

I’ve only got eight more.

Until you’re an official adult.

Until you fly the coup and land at a college campus somewhere.

It’s crazy to think that a person

has baby,

raises that baby until the baby is no longer a baby but still always your baby,

and then, BOOM, there’s this grown person,

who’s f*ckin incredible,

who’s going to change the world.

I don’t know if I’m ready for this, but, at the same time, I am ready for this…as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Nicole Merritt of Jthreenme. You can follow her on Facebook, her website, or podcast. Get her new book, Musings for Mom, here. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more from Nicole here:

‘I expected him to tell me, ‘Yeah, I’ve noticed. You’ve got to do something about that anxiety.’ He didn’t though.’: Mom grateful for husband’s love when sharing insecurities

‘Do I send my child to their brick and mortar campus and worry about their physical health EVERY SINGLE DAY?’: Mom shares frustrations for fall school re-openings

‘You’ll never remember these nights. When I lie in bed, listening to you breathe, and question if someone, anyone, could do this better.’: Mom says ‘you’ll never remember these nights, but I will’

‘I send them to school with stains. We eat dinner in front of the TV. We make noise, a lot of it, and we like our pasta best slurped.’: Mom urges ‘dance to the beat of your own family’s drum’

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