I’ve
heard that we as an adult learn more from raising our children than we did
from our own parents. Having a family is
part of the process of finding self and our path, both as a parent and a child.
As I look back on my life, I’ve come to realize the growth that I made as a
person struggling after a divorce as a single parent with a family of sons to
raise alone. Happy ever after was
my original goal, but surviving, growing and persisting in raising responsible
healthy young men who would start their own families was my new goal. I now
have grandchildren who are helping my sons and daughter-in-laws to continue their
growth as adults. Everyone is part of a family whether they claim them or not.
I
tried to capture this cycle of learning in a poem called Labyrinth: Ahead lies the path
not straight and narrow / curving and turning back on itself. / I begin my
journey slowly wondering where it leads. / Not knowing but trusting, I
continue. / Setbacks and obstacles come, / yet always a direction opens. / At
last I find the center, but it continues. / As I return the cycle repeats, others follow
along. / Birth, a beginning / carefree childhood, adolescent questioning,
/ playful courtship, marriage then commitment, / soon children come to a new
family. / Parenting challenges end with an empty nest / as young ones begin the
cycle anew. / Their children will follow / the worn footsteps of the same path.
/ Soon I am bent and gray, my walk slows, / I know the way, where it leads. / Back
to where I began. / I watch my children follow the same path / and long to
guide them. NEXT TIME: Old Fashion
Fun