The Art of Climbing High and Letting Go

“I got all the way to the top, Mama.”

​At the top of a three story climbing tower was a yellow platform and my little big girl had climbed from the bottom all the way up. I asked if she was scared up there.

“No, I wasn’t scared.”

I stood there with my head cocked all the way back to get a look at where she had been. I asked her again if it was true. She confirmed it. So did daddy.

My little girl had climbed all the way to the yellow platform at the top of the climbing tower at the children’s museum. At a children’s museum, I was reminded that she wouldn’t always be a child and I would be left behind and below watching mouth gaped at the wonder of it all.

How was it possible? How did her baby arms and legs pull her so high? How did she not get overcome with fear half way up? Why didn’t she need my help?

I was proud and I was broken. This is what we work so hard for, isn’t it? As a mom, we are always working to make them more independent, to help them embrace courage, and to equip them to go higher and reach farther.

And then, eventually, they will move out of our reach and we will be left behind. We will be scared and we will be anxious and we will be heartbroken. But we will be proud and we will be happy and we will be mom.
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And when they get all the way to the top they will look over their shoulder and see me. Because as long as I am living, I will always be Mama.