Saying Goodbye.....

I remember my mom telling me when I was in the midst of crying babies and the chaos that comes when you have little ones around that it was mind boggling how quickly the time passes. I didn't believe her at the time....how could I have known? There I was muddling through never ending days and sleepless nights and time seemed to be moving so slowly.

Surely she was wrong....

This week I realized with shocking clarity how right she was!

It seems like not so very long ago that I brought this sweet baby home from the hospital and fell in love with motherhood for the very first time. And now, here she is, heading off to college!

There has been alot of drama this summer.

Parenthood isn't pretty....

it is not for the faint of heart....

there were days when I didn't want to get out of bed and face it.....

but this week reminded me of all that is good about being a parent.

Saying goodbye to my (big) little girl, helping her set up her dorm room, reminiscing about growing up together.....(yes, I do believe I have grown up too!)

It was all good.

And so rewarding.

Shelby is still deciding who she wants to be. She is growing and learning, re-examining her values, reaching and stretching.

There are days when it is painful....

And there are days when it is oh so sweet....

I saw a quote recently that I would love to post in my house where everyone can see it several times a day. "IN THIS HOME--We do second chances. We do grace. We do real. We do mistakes. We do "I'm sorrys". We do loud really well. We do hugs. We do family. --WE DO LOVE."

So, for now, we are celebrating the oh so sweet, we are acknowledging mistakes and revelling in second chances, we are finding the joy in love....

And amidst it all, we are saying goodbye.