Remember

Our daughter went back to college yesterday, after time home for winter break. It was a long recess, as many other schools commenced last week.

Having her leave reminded me of a poem I wrote last year-her first year in college. It seems I feel the same a year after writing it. I suppose I will always feel this way. It's part of being a mom.

remember

remember

how i loved you then,
and how i love you now.

so long ago

your little face

was all that i could see.

i held you,

wondering how your delicate soul
arrived

to fill my world.

they say

we don't know what it's like

to be a parent-

until we are one

(and that was true for me, for sure).

all the things i'd learned

and read

were tossed out the door!

making our way

through twists and turns,

your dad and i

muddled through those first days-

then months-

now years

have passed
and you are gone-

(well that is as it should be).

you're not far,

you'll be home soon.

college is a stage

in time,

it will be over
and you'll be home
and never leave?

no, that's not right-
i want a Life for you

(don't wish to pen you in).

you are a woman
not a child-

but it feels to me

that time has gone

too fast

to take this in.

when you were young

you were our first

a daughter--we were so blessed!

a little girl, our very own,

to cherish and to love.

how much more complete

can one feel in this vast universe?


the dress you wore

(the one your gramma bought

before she knew you were a girl)

you looked so adorable;

and now you've grown.

you were our life back then
and now i think

where did time go?

i wish those days would come again-

without any parting words

they left

not one reminder

they were even on their way out!

they caught me ill-prepared

and i have thought not of the truth-

that your days here
are nearly done.

your time under our roof

is time that's almost over now.

you'll be on your own,

with a family
and a life.

will you remember

how i loved you then,
and how i love you now?

--Today I am thankful for the days and months and years my husband and I have spent watching our daughter grow into a lovely and kind young woman.