I’m sure you’ve heard or read somewhere, in some cliche fashion or another, that there are moments in life that define you. I, myself, can’t speak to a concrete opinion on that, because how are you going to let 60 seconds write the dictionary of your life? However, if there were ever a brief glimpse of time to capture the essence of joy in one's life, I can only assume it would be the moment they became a parent.
The best memory of most parent's lives is the moment they first get an eyeful of the beautiful creature they made. To know that you have in front of you the product of you and a person you shared yourself with, must simply overwhelm the mind and body with compassion. That feeling can only be topped by more innocent and pure baby antics that will only occur for a short bit of time. The magnificent bonding of breastfeeding, the glow of the gorgeous eyes and gracious giggle and gurgle when you play peek-a-boo, the feeling of soothing their every want and need with your comfort, hearing them spout off "mama" or "dada" as they stand over their first successful "number two" that made it into the toilet bowl.
So precious and irreplaceable.
They will never remember this.
They do not recall the beauty of their first cry in the arms of their father. They will never get nostalgic over being nourished by their mother's milk. They don't understand why you cry every time some song comes on, because they don't remember hearing it as they came out of the womb. They cannot possibly know all the embarrassing ways you attempted to get them to eat, or how many times you sang them to sleep after checking vigorously for monsters under the bed, while you were in stage five of exhaustion. They don't know that you let them use your shirt for a tissue in public. They don't get why you want to talk about it, and they're even embarrassed by the idea that you had to take such copious care of them. Frankly, they want those baby pictures burned because they're going to scare their friends away, so "stop showing people Mom, seriously".
It's heart-wrenching.
Of course there will be times of shared satisfaction in the eyes of the child and the parent. As the little baby you once cuddled grows into a person all their own, you may not get to wipe food from their mouth, but you can watch them, knowing you taught them how. Everything they do is a reflection of you, even though sometimes you might not like to admit it.
Some of the best memories you share with your child, cannot ever truly be shared at all.
So parents, be thankful you’ll always know. Kids, young or old, try and appreciate what you will never know, and go hug your mom.
