Time can be such a strange thing sometimes.

    We never have enough, it seems, and yet it passes so swiftly that we barely take notice. We remind ourselves to savor every moment only to sit in wonder when it dawns upon us just how quickly it seems to go by.

    I found myself in one of those moments today.

    This young man and I seem to have an arrangement. It is not as though we sat and discussed who does what around here…we just do it. I awoke this morning and set about my part of the chores before waking him to do his.

   Groom the dog, clean the house, get something out for supper, start the laundry…these are mine.

   Do the yard….this is his chore.

   Normally, he would be doing his own laundry; however, it seems a small thing for me to do since in return for what he does around here.

    I hear the screen door open and he passes through the room as I am folding clothes. I glance up and see this tall and somewhat lanky figure as it passes me. Red hair held firmly back with a ponytail holder…slight fuzz on his chin…ear buds from an Ipod fitted snugly inside both of his ears…he does not really take notice of me.

….but I notice him.

   More the the point, I find myself wondering where all the time has gone.

   This is my son. He has been in my life since the very beginning. I held him as a baby…carried him on my hip…and held his hand as he crossed streets. With little effort, I can still picture the little boy that used to cuddle up with me as I read stories to him. Where DID all that time go? Does there come a point when we are so busy living that we forget to notice how things change?

   He still needs me…and I’d have to presume that, on some levels, I need him, as well. We joke sometimes that he, as the male in the house, has only three duties….

   Lift heavy things

   Reach things in high places

   Kill bugs

   ….but he does so much more.

    My little boy has grown into a very special teenager. Okay, most moms will say that about their kids…but it is true.

   If I’m feeling somewhat overwhelmed…he’s the one that reminds me that I’ve always found a way and will do so again.

   If I’m sad…he makes me laugh.

   And when I feel lonely…he reminds me that we are in this thing together and therefore are never alone.

    I finish folding his clothes…taking time to note that his pants and shirts are so much bigger than the little ones that he used to wear. Even his socks are bigger…no more baby booties. He will put them away later….yet another thing that I used to do for him. He wants to go to the game store when he is done. I’ve no real interest in video games, but I will take him because it is something that we do and it gives us more time to enjoy together.

    Yes, I’m proud of the young man that I see growing before me as time passes.

   ….but sometimes…

   I miss the babe I used to hold.

arkmomy