July 2009

President’s Podium

At precisely, 8:02 p.m. 18 year’s ago, I became for the first time, a mother. 

At 26 years of age, I still felt like a child myself, so naïve, unsure, lacking in confidence and still untouched by many of life’s lessons.  But here she was - my 21 inch, 7lb 12 oz baby girl, pink and crying, scared and helpless.  She needed me and I was forever changed.

The years that followed were tumultuous.  We bought a house, my husband’s business was failing, I lost my parents, etc.  When life goes up and then down, it inevitably turns back up again only to peak and descend once more.  But we always had our Meghan, a fragile and beautiful reminder of the necessity to put one foot in front of the other, holding up our chins to face another day for her sake, the sake of our little family.

While I worked 50 sometimes 60 hour workweeks, Meg spent her days with my husband in his deli much to the delight of all his customers.  She’d be cheerfully peeling eggs in the kitchen with the cook, skipping out to the counter to greet a familiar voice.  It was heart rending for me to leave her there, but to this day she recalls  that this was a period she looks back on with a deep fondness, truly and warmly cherishing all the afternoons she got to spend with her Dad.  He’d treat her to peanut butter sandwiches on Kaiser Rolls, Yoo-Hoos and Hershey Chocolate Bars.  She met lots of fun and friendly people who always showered her with smiles, little gifts and compliments. At three she spoke like an adult with a Minnie Mouse voice because of the constant exposure she had with grown ups,

Then there are the visions of her little pink velour and satin Irish step dance costume and her perfect little legs skipping and stomping across the stage.  Roars of applause always came at the end, and there she was proudly standing with her legs crossed, strongly holding the final pose and with a smile that could slow down time enough for us to take a mental photo, the kind that you know will be etched in your mind’s-eye forever.

Amongst all these dance recitals, Girl Scout patches, corner lemonade stands, picnics and parades, my daughter’s spirit emerged, a thoroughly good spirit, giving and trusting, creative, kind and forgiving. 

I have learned that while becoming emerged in the chaos and bustle of life, I was in danger of missing the moment when my child was no longer that pink, crying, scared & helpless baby, but suddenly a young woman, with one foot still in childhood and the other clearly crossing the threshold into a more independent, mature self.

It was my absolute privilege and honor to have witnessed this moment, at precisely 10:30 a.m., 7 days ago.  As my daughter graduated from high school with first honors, adorned with an Honor Society cowl, and multi colored cords representing her many other accomplishments, I became for the first time the mother of a young woman.  She wore an entirely new smile and an heir of confidence I hadn’t seen before.  My eyes filled with tears as I realized what exactly I was witnessing – my baby, now a young lady.

While I am filled with excitement for my daughter and all of her endless possibilities, I am grateful for the two little ones I still have at home.  Because of this experience with my daughter, I have a hope of parenting them with a little more wisdom, a little more balance, a little more perspective and gobs more appreciation for every joy and every mishap they’ll bring to me.  I don’t want to miss a thing!

Let’s all continue to be supportive reminders to one another in this very lesson.  To slow down, to simplify, to take in, to memorize, to stop!, to listen, to love and to be present to what is really important in life – our children.

Our Children Have Made Us Friends,

:o)  Mary Grace Roach

President, NCMOTC