Milestones and Memories
Milestones have a way of helping us reflect on our lives, our accomplishments, as well as the things we may have done differently.
This week my youngest son is wrapping up his minor hockey career. And in the process I am wrapping up a huge part of being a mom. I know I will still be a mom but my role is changing.
For the past 18 years I have been frequenting arenas as a cheerleader. Cheering both my boys on while they learned to skate, to tie their own laces and to play the game of hockey. I may have grumbled in the early years when I couldn’t keep track of which town, which arena, which day I was running. But I grew to love those trips and the further the better, just to have them all to myself for those hours.
There’s a certain pride every hockey mom carries whether their child is the top goal scorer or not. At least in this mom’s eyes, their kids are the star of the game. And us moms, their biggest fan. <3
I’m saddened a bit knowing that this week will be the last time that I will leave the stands, clapping my silent clap, giving my thumbs up as he leaves the ice and beaming with pride no matter how the game went. There will be other games but not like these past ones. This week I am still their biggest cheerleader. I will get to listen to the game replayed over and over again in the car on the way home. Spending every moment listening, taking a moment to tell them what I saw in the game and sending every ounce of love I have to them imprinting on them just how proud I am of them.
I will always be their cheerleader, but I know they have a future full of new cheerleaders. They will likely marry and amazing cheerleader, and have their own little family of cheerleaders (much like I do now <3 )
I wish so many amazing things for my boys. So many successes big and small. To get up after falling down and knowing the strength they gain from both the good and the bad. Becoming all that they can be. <3
This week I will have a tear or two. Some in sadness for the little boys used to be but mostly with pride for the amazing men they are becoming. Even though I won’t remember the score from last year’s game, or who scored what goal….. I will remember how I felt.
And I will always be their cheerleader, whether I’m with them or not. Clapping my silent clap, giving my thumbs up as they leave the ice, being the last to leave the stands, beaming with pride no matter how the game they play turns out.
So as I reflect on this milestone, I do so with pride. I can see some of the things I could have done differently,….. but mostly I see all that I have accomplished. And those accomplishments that are the greatest will always call me mom. <3
Listen to Tamina's audio version:
https://soundcloud.com/user-228569215/blog-milestones-and-memoriesmp3