Seedling to Sunflower
Today my son, my only child, is 14-years-old.
My life, my world, brightened on this day in 2010.
As the song Sunrise, Sunset states, I don’t remember growing older, when did he?
Overnight, it seems, my son has turned from a seedling into a sunflower.
To raise another human being is magical.
I always say being a mother is the closest I will ever get to magic.
My husband and I conjured our son from ourselves, and to witness his becoming is awe-inspiring.
For his birthday, one of his gifts is a bracelet with the image of a tree on it.
The tree symbolizes his growth, as well as the fact that he is sustained by deep roots and deep love.
My son’s roots spread to nearly every continent of the globe and he is loved by many, on more than one continent, and on both sides of the veil.
Now that my son is an adolescent — he will be in high school next year — so much of my role is to step back and to feel confident in the foundation his father and I, and our family, have given him.
The foundation that will help our now 14-year-old navigate the world and discover more of who he is.
To me, one of the greatest gifts of motherhood is to learn who my son is.
Even when his heart beat within my body, I knew he was his own person.
It is my duty to stand in the wings and to watch my son shine.
In my son’s thin, muscular face, I see every iteration of who he has been since he was first placed in my arms.
I will never forget peering into his newborn face and telling him, “You grew nice and strong in there.”
He has since grown nice and strong in the world.
In my son, I see all of the souls who breathed life into him.
In my son, I have a glimpse into a world that will remain when I am no longer here.
I am so proud of my son.
His heart and his mind are filled with love, openness, intelligence, compassion and empathy.
My husband and I have done something right and although we are now entering the challenge of his high school years, his core is strong.
Hence the bracelet to remind him that no matter where he goes, no matter where we are, he is sustained by deep roots and deep love.
