It's Like Giving Birth All Over Again

This weekend was my daughter’s 18^th birthday. Our tradition is, on the night before our kids’ birthdays, to tell them the story of their birth. We begin with the events of the day that led up to my water breaking, that turned into a trip to the hospital, that resulted in contractions, some pushing, and a brand new life in our hands, along with all of the emotions that went along with that entire experience. This year was particularly poignant, not only because of the fact that Kenzie was turning 18 and was officially an “adult”, but on this very same weekend, she had moved into her residence hall and was ready to begin her first year of college.

This brought many parallels to mind as I spoke of her birth-day 18 years ago, and wrestled with my having to give birth to her all over again, this time letting her go and explore life on her own, hopefully with the good values and lessons that we tried to instill on her throughout those 18 years. I thought of the anticipation of Kenzie’s birth, much like my anticipation over her starting college. I remember 18 years ago being excited and scared all at the same time: excited for the new adventures we were about to embark on, afraid of all the unknowns. As we left for the hospital that evening 18 years ago, we felt calm and ready . . . much like we did when we loaded boxes in her car this weekend, and helped her unpack.

But on the night before her 18^th birthday, as I told the story of her birth, I couldn’t help but well up with tears as those 18 years flashed before my eyes. From diaper changing to teething. Learning to walk to making new friends on the playground. Wearing a school uniform and discovering a love for learning. Trials and errors. Friendships and tears. Love and heartbreak. I still find myself in disbelief that my baby daughter is off on her own, but I am comforted in the feeling that we did the best we could with her. Our jobs as parents are to raise happy, social, straight-thinking, emotional, loving human beings. And, she is every one of those things. This new birth story is one I’m certain I’ll be telling for another 18 years.