A leap of faith

There is a very mixed view on what the hardest part about motherhood is.  As a new mom, with a new born baby in arm, and you will hear its the feeding, lack of sleep, or not knowing what baby needs when they cry.  Ask a mom with a toddler and they will say, its keeping your eye on them all the time, and having to check on their every move.  But having gone through all the stages of motherhood over the past 19 years, and looking back, I'd say the hardest thing about being a mom, is when your children no longer need you and move on.....jumping from the nest and wanting to fly away!

Its hard to let go and watch as your children take steps into the big wide world.  Looking back on my experiences, it seems so silly now, but way back then, it was a big deal to me, because its all I knew, I never had any experience on life and it all seemed so overwhelming.  Leaving school, where I knew my teachers, my friends and starting a new life, was the scariest experience at the time.  My friends moved away, went to study, got married and went travelling.  I was left to start a new job and later my own family.

My daughter, who has recently left school, is finding it particularly difficult to step into the next stage of her life.  As a mother, its hard to sit back and watch and know that there is very little that we can do besides comfort and advise...that she needs to take this big step into the world and start the adult life that waits for her, on her own. I would love to grab her by the hand and somehow do what I did best when she was a child, tell her what to do and not take no for an answer.....that would be the easy way out because I would be living it all for her....but the truth is, I have to sit back and watch as she makes her way....and it is the hardest thing I have ever done as a mother.

Fifi, I love you so much, you are such a clever, intellegent and wonderful women.  You have so much potential....you just need to take the step and you will be looking back and seeing just how easy it is.  It is scary, but you are brave.....just take it one step at a time.  Mom x