New First Times

Life is full of many first times. The first time you stay away from home as a kid. The first time you go on a date or drive alone. The first time you have a child, and all the first times that entails.

Now I am experiencing new first times. I experienced a new first time Saturday evening.

I knocked on my son’s front door.

I have just entered a new phase in life. And knocking on the front door of one of my children was a definite first.

This photo is not my son’s front door. I actually didn’t take a picture of his front door (I would of if I had thought of it), and it wasn’t actually his front door. It is his only door. He lives in an apartment.

For some reason I never pictured knocking on my kid’s front door.

And now I have.

Another first just happened today. My son came for a visit. Okay, actually my son came to do his laundry but why split hairs? He’s here. We visited and…he did laundry.

So many firsts in a parent’s life. All those firsts of growing up. I didn’t think about the firsts that would take place when they left home.

I’m pretty sure there are more first times I will encounter as a mother of adult children. Some I have dreamed of and some I’m sure have never even entered my mind.

There is another first coming my way in just a few weeks. I will drive my youngest son to the airport and sit with him until he boards. He will have a connecting flight to Denver where he will catch a flight to Europe. My son will be flying across the big pond alone, for the first time. And I am learning to be okay with that.

What other choice do I have?

But that’s life. Change. Growth.

Kids grow up.

They move out, whether across the river to a different state, or an ocean away.

They start families of their own.

As a mother, I get the opportunity to grow some more.

Because of all these new first times.