I’ve made some pretty big mistakes in my life and I would do anything to keep my son from having to make the same ones. I remember my mom wishing the same thing as she watched me make the very same mistakes that she had years before. She was devastated as she watched me struggle through them. Unfortunately sometimes our children have to learn on their own. We can’t do it for them. As much as we wish we could shield them from the consequences, they need these little learning experiences to grow.
Without the mistakes that I made I would not be the woman I am today. They were difficult, they were devastating, but I gained an inner strength that I may not have had otherwise. I don’t ever want to see my baby in pain, but I know that in order for him to become the man he needs to be, he will have to experience life on his own. I will always be there to hold him through it, to be a shoulder to cry on, but in the end he has to go through those things and gain the experience on his own. As much as I wish I could, I can’t do it for him. I can give him the tools he needs to be able to figure these things out on his own. I can tell him what I went through and guide him through his trials, but ultimately it is him that has to make the decisions. He is going to make mistakes, big ones and it will be hard for me to watch him struggle and suffer through the consequences, but I know without a doubt that he will come out of it a stronger person, with knowledge and empathy. Without the trials and the sadness he will never fully appreciate the joy at the end of the tunnel.