Mother

As a mother I think I can safely say that we just want what is best for our children, that we want to love them and protect them from harm. I have come to realize that being a mother means that we will always, to some degree, be protective. When is being protective considered being over-protective? When is being over-protective considered unhealthy? How do we know when to let our children fall? How do we know when to pick them up? or do we pick them up? Why doesn't being a mother come with a manual? 

 I have been told by my teenagers that I am over-protective. I have come to realize through this journey that I am a controlling person. That I believe that I am only doing what is good and right. Does that make it right? Probably not. Is it too late to learn from my mistakes and give my children room to grow and to breathe? It is NEVER too late. We can't look at anything we do out of love for our children as a mistake. We are only doing our best, out of love. What could my teenagers learn from this experience? I think they can learn that we all make mistakes, that its never to late to change, that in this life, we do our best with what we are given and that we need to feel proud of the good we do. I want them to learn how to realize their mistakes, how to apologize when they feel they acted inappropriatley, how to be humble, how to be forgiving. I guess when I look at this, I can see an opportunity for great growth, for me, as a mother, and for my children. 

I was listening to the song MOTHER by Pink Floyd. I was really listening to the lyrics and thinking about this portrait of an over protective mother:

 We must give our children roots AND wings.