Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Man You've Become

I spent some time this weekend trying to find the perfect song to dance to with my son at his wedding . Let me tell you, moms, if you need a good, cathartic, two-Kleenex-box cry, this is the exercise for you. Make sure you are not wearing mascara, and if you need a shoulder to cry on, don't be alone.

I listened and then told my husband to come here, I needed a hug. "I need a moment," I told him. He put his arms around me, not knowing what I had just been doing. Poor guy, this woman of his just starts crying out of nowhere?

He patted my back and stroked my hair once, and then said, "Okay, that's been more than a moment. It's been like six moments." Somehow I managed to tell him briefly what was on my heart, something about letting Ben go that's really hitting me right now.

He said, "That's what we raise to kids to do--leave home and be independent." I said, "I know, but..."

"I know" is not what I meant in the moment. (Or in my six moments.) What I really meant in my heart was, "We raise them to leave us? Are you kidding? That's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, to just have a kid after 23 years "up and leave ya!" That's what I was really thinking.

That, plus, "I'm so proud of him and I'm so happy for him." There's always a plus.

Anyway, here is the song I believe I want to dance with him. It expresses my heart in a way I wish I could have written. Grab a Kleenex, or two, or the whole box. You're gonna need it if you're a mom, especially the mom of a son on the verge of getting married! Get ready to have
" a moment." Or six.

3 comments:

Marti said...

What a beautiful tribute!

Laurie said...

Oh how sweet! What a great Mother and son wedding dance song!

Lea @ CiCis Corner said...

Well, you are braver than me. I could have never lived through it if I had danced with my son to that song. Talk about tears! Reminds me of my husband dancing with our daughter at her reception to "Daddy's Little Girl" and I stood on the sidelines holding on to my heart. Oh, what precious memories!