Being your mother

 Being your mother

was my greatest blessing

not the milestones
not the photos
not even the firsts everyone talks about

it was the quiet in between
the way your hand fit in mine
the way you looked for me in every room
like I was your whole world

and somehow…
you became mine too

I blinked
and the days that felt so long
became years that felt so short

the toys are gone now
the house is quieter
but your laughter still echoes here
like it never really left

I see you now
grown into your own life
making your own choices
carrying pieces of me
in ways you don’t even realize

and I wonder if you know…

every prayer I whispered over you
every night I stayed up
every moment I chose you
over everything else

I would do it all again

being your mother
was never something I outgrew

it is stitched into who I am
woven into every part of my heart

and even now
watching you grow from a distance

I still see the baby
who made me a mother

my greatest blessing
then
now
and always