The Imperfectly Perfect Parent... Blog post: Goodbye, Baby Bubble
Heather Ness is a blogger at The Imperfectly Perfect Parent and a full-time mum to Molly and Emily. Here she shares her feelings upon realising that the baby bubble her youngest has lived in for so long has finally burst.
I watched my baby girl leave this morning, and captured this moment while I fought the strongest maternal urge to grab her back and squeeze her tight.
Moo has been going to various nurseries/preschools for over a year now, but it was only in this moment that I realised what had just happened – our baby bubble had burst.
I watched her that morning ask to put on her own clothes. She pulled up the zipper on her coat "all by myself" and with a kiss goodbye and another kiss safely in her jacket pocket, she confidently picked up her bag and walked to the front door to leave me, a world without Mum.
Somewhere down the line, that bubble we shared where I was her everything had changed.
Between the transition from cot to bed, nappies to pants, 50 dummies to none – she'd become a confident little girl who was ready to face the world without my hand.
Her world was so much bigger than the one we had; with a network of what began as strangers, she'd now grown to love and trust.
I knew this day would come but I don't think I was quite ready to experience this moment when my daughter was all but two and half years in this life.
I'm no longer a 'new' mum.
In a blink of an eye, I have created a real life family of four and the hardest task I've had to face thus far is letting go.
From the minute she walked out that door, I was no longer the person teaching her everything she knows.
I had to find inner strength to believe that the people I put my trust in, would provide the love, understanding and teachings that I knew would contribute to that beautiful little personality of hers.
And that trust in those around her has, in turn, created one beautiful soul.
She can show compassion, speak loudly and express her thoughts and emotions with fearlessness.
She tell stories with imagination and dances with spirit.
But, most importantly, she has faith in those around her – which in our 'whirlwind' lifestyle is beyond important to me.
To every person who's held my daughters hand when I couldn't; to those who have shown her how to love herself, to love strangers and to trust more than just me, I say thank you.
Thank you for letting me know and giving me the confidence to believe that I have done the right thing; that it's ok to let her walk out that door without me.
Life has taught me the importance of finding your own two feet.
That what is here today, may not be the same tomorrow.
Maybe more so than some others, I want to encourage my babies as soon as they can, to know that no matter what, they will be strong enough to handle a world without me.
The world can be a big bad place but it can also be a beautiful one.
She needs to know there are good people everywhere she goes; so long as she believes that, she will always find it.
And at this moment, the picture brought me endless amounts of peace and pride.
You have well and truly got this, Wee Moo, and Mummy is SO proud.
For more of Heather's blog posts, click here.