Whoo-hoo it’s graduation season!  I love this time of year, so much reflection on the past, so much excitement for the future. Parties, cake and fried chicken are an added bonus.

All of this got me thinking, my youngest child turned 4 recently, and maybe, I have graduated.

I think I might have graduated from “young” motherhood…

4 years have passed – newborn, baby stuff, toddlerhood, preschooler, 4.  In the blink of an eye, my baby is grown into a little boy and since he is my last, we are sort of switching gears around here.

When all of our kids hit the age of 4, something magical happens…we graduate from young motherhood (according to me!)

Young motherhood: the Commencement Speech.  

(I was not smart or cool enough to deliver a commencement speech in real life)

We’ve made it moms!  It’s been a long 4 years.  

But *hopefully* our kids are all out of diapers (nighttime totally doesn’t count), and for the most part, can feed themselves, dress themselves, put their own shoes on etc.  

We’ve made it through the rigorous non-stop cycle of feedings, naps, pumping and crying.  We mastered making baby food, tummy time, colors, the sounds animals make, please and thank you and sometimes our child uses these amazing skills.  

Somehow we survived birth, nip bites, baby scratches, baby vomit with no warning, poop up to the neck, poop out the sides, blood curdling screams at all hours of the night and day.  We survived Target fits and meltdowns (well those might not be completely over).  We survived not showering for multiple days.  We survived what could have been clinically diagnosed as severe sleep deprivation.

We have overcome a lot of fear.  Let us not forget about the fear of birth, fear of breast feeding, fear of never sleeping again, fear of choking, fear of falling down stairs, fear of bumper pad suffocation, fear of going back to work, fear of judgement*, fear of failure*.

*some of these may still be a work in progress.

Somehow we have made it through those days, but as we look back, we cannot forget about all the good times.  

The sweet sounds of a newborn; from grunting to snoring, to cooing and even some crying.  The faces, the first smiles.  All of the firsts; rolls, giggles, claps, signs, crawling, walking, talking, make believing, their personalities exploding right before our very eyes. 

These four years have been the slowest and quickest of our lives.  We have poured all we got into these tiny humans and now we are on to the next chapter as their moms.  

It’s with a grateful memory of the past and a faithful hope for the future, that we say and believe, “the best is yet to come” .  So congrats grads, now it’s time to go make dinner…can we get a 4 year old to make their own meals yet?