Change is inevitable! Life is constantly changing, circumstances
change, people change and as Robert Frost once wrote, “In 3 words I can sum up
everything I know about life…it goes on.” So true!
Recently my son and middle child left for boot camp. This
has been a huge change in our family. Aside from the pride I feel for his
courageous decision to join the Army and pursue his dreams, I miss him terribly.
That fact that I cannot hear his voice for 10 weeks is hard to handle and
although the letters he sends helps, it is not the same as being able to pick
up a phone and speak with him. I know that he is being taken care of and has
fully embraced himself in his training! I can tell from his written words that
he is enjoying the challenges and learning new skills and starting his career.
He has his head in the right place and seems to have taken it all in stride and
has maintained his sense of humor. He has even named his M16 “HELGA”. I have done my job as a Mom and it is his time
to start his journey and stay on the path that he has set for himself! My
sister assures me that I will learn to live with the “empty nest”! It is a big
change, but a positive change and a natural succession in life. I have given him wings and it is his time to
fly! And, I still have two more flights to prepare for…. LOL
As a parent you spend so many years preparing your children
for the “real world” and you hope & pray that you have taught them the
skills and lessons that they need to survive and succeed. As my son was
preparing to leave for Basic Training I posted a list of rules on his bedroom
door. It was to give him encouragement as the time was drawing near for his
departure and I wanted to sum up all of the things that I thought he would need
to remember to get him through any tough times he would encounter. I tried to
look back at my own life and write these rules as if I was speaking to my “18
year old self”. It needed to be a simple list that was easy to remember, but
that summed up things to remember when we need a little help along our journey.
In good times or bad times, these were “little mantra’s” that I wanted him to
have embedded in his mind. Perhaps I was hoping that he would think of me as he
recited them in his mind, perhaps I needed to remember them myself and perhaps
it gave me a sense of security that he had heeded the lessons I tried to
instill in him all of these years. Either way, I do believe he heard them,
stored them in his mind and refers to them as needed, as he has quoted them
back to me in some of his letters. Funny side story…my daughter was writing her
brother a letter the other day and I saw that she was re-writing the “rules” to
her brother as encouragement to “hang in there”. She wrote, “Remember Mom’s
Rules”! Now I know that she has them stored too! Mission Accomplished!! (By the
way, Clumsy Mumzy is what my son refers to me as!)
Clumzy
Mumzy’s Rules to remember and live by:
1.
Embrace
the Suck.
(When you’re hurting, you are growing!)
2.
Keep your Eye on the Prize.
(Achieve your dreams!)
3.
Depend on
your Faith.
(Never compromise your beliefs and know that
Prayer works!)
4.
Find Humor
in ALL situations.
(Laughter is the best medicine!)
5.
Never
forget how much you are LOVED.
(I love you to the moon & back)
The rules were based on lessons, quotes and words that I
have lived by and tried to instill in my children. The stories behind these
words may never be fully known to all, but I wanted to share them with all of
you. The list hangs not only on my son’s
bedroom door, but on my bedroom closet door so that each morning I can be
reminded that life is a fantastic journey full of changing times. It is how we
react and choose to act in those changing times that make us the person we are
today. As simple as the list seems, the embodiment of each rule is vast and the
many stories that could be told behind each rule is rich.
It is my hope that you may have “words to live by” in your own
life and that you know that you are unique and wonderfully made. We all have
the ability to affect others in a positive and enlightened way. Go out into the
world and share your time, your knowledge and your wisdom to make a difference in
the life of another. You never know when you may be a catalyst for a wonderful
change in someone’s life or you may be standing at the starting gate of your
own change! Embrace it!!
Just sayin’,
Christina
