Mom Shares Heartfelt Explanation On Why Parents Have To “Soak It All In” While The Kids Are Still Young, Goes Viral
Misty Brewer Lee has two children. Her daughter is a 21-year-old junior playing college softball and her son is a high school senior who just turned 19. Two young adults, getting ready to tackle life on their own. And while they still need their mom, while she will always remain their parent, her role has changed.
Coming to terms with these changes, Misty penned an open letter to the younger parents. In it, she revealed one of the most important lessons she has learned throughout the years: to cherish it all. Every single step of the journey. And her post wasn’t banal or condescending. It was sincere. Probably that’s why it went viral, generating a whopping 379K reactions and 491K shares on Facebook.
Pause the music, take a seat, and soak it all in, guys, for this is a mother getting real.
Image credits: Misty Brewer Lee
Misty thinks her relationship with both of her children is really healthy, “We are definitely in a transitional phase where they are starting to experience more life on their own and I’m having to learn to let them. That’s the hardest part of it all, learning that balance of letting them spread their wings while supporting them and giving them guidance and advice through it. Essentially, they are young adults who haven’t experienced as much life as I have, so we aren’t always going to see eye to eye on everything. But I try to be very diplomatic and take the time to implement life lessons as often as possible,” she told Bored Panda. “They are at a very pivotal place in their lives, trying to find out who they are.”
And sometimes, when there’s so much transition taking place, it can become a bit of a struggle. That’s when Misty’s love and encouragement really shine through.
“My son still lives at home, so we see him daily. Our daughter no longer lives at home but I talk to her daily, usually multiple times,” the mom said. “My husband and I make it a priority to spend time together with just the two of them as often as possible. So I invite her for Sunday dinner at our house every week. Usually, she’s able to make it work but there are occasional weeks where she may have a big test or softball workouts and she’s not able to. But typically she comes to visit at least a couple of times a week. And we are always together for the holidays.”
Misty said that her faith and leaning on God, in general, was the thing that helped her to let go the most. “When they’re out on their own in the world and you can’t always protect them like you could when they were little children, you just have to pray that they make wise decisions. That they’re safe. That they pursue a life they’re passionate about. And that no matter where life takes them, they always know how much you love them.”
Parents were incredibly moved by Misty’s words
Aww, that was so emotional and SO TRUE. Kids grow up in the blink of an eye,
my wife hate that our kids grow up (now 5,9 and 11). i Don't know if it's more a woman things because for me i Watch it with pride to see my kids growing up, wondering how they'll grow up, having a differente Relationship with them. i love to see my kids growing up and getting more independant. in a sense it give me a sense of accomplishment to see they're able to do thing they couldn't have done few years ago.
Ha ha, not specifically woman thing. People are different and that one doesn't specifically fall along gender lines.
Load More Replies... The dependence between parents and children starts to loosen the day they are born, and this process is meant to ever continue until adulthood. However, the bond formed in those early years can last. And, even more importantly, the values they grasp from the way YOU life (rather than what you teach them) will likely stay with them for a lifetime.
When my boys were young, I used to kiss them all the time - to the point they would joke about me being the "kissy monster". They would ask me why I kissed them so much, and I always told them: "One day, you won't kiss me any more, and I have to collect enough kisses to last me a lifetime." Fast-forward through the divorce with their mother, to her lying to them about me, and we're now estranged and haven't spoken in over 10 years. 😢
Time and Tide wait for no one. Ten years from now we will all be ten years older (assuming we are alive). My advice, play with your kids because once they are older you will never be able to get those moments back.
hopefully they will settle close by... it will be nice to have them back for visits...
I can't have children and reading this makes me so sad for all the memories I'll never make.
Just because you can't have biological children doesn't mean you can't have kids or make those memories. You can adopt, or date / marry someone with children. If you adopt, don't overlook the "older" children (many people only want a baby or very young child), because guess what? They want those memories, too. But their chances to make them get smaller every day.
Load More Replies... Aww, that was so emotional and SO TRUE. Kids grow up in the blink of an eye,
my wife hate that our kids grow up (now 5,9 and 11). i Don't know if it's more a woman things because for me i Watch it with pride to see my kids growing up, wondering how they'll grow up, having a differente Relationship with them. i love to see my kids growing up and getting more independant. in a sense it give me a sense of accomplishment to see they're able to do thing they couldn't have done few years ago.
Ha ha, not specifically woman thing. People are different and that one doesn't specifically fall along gender lines.
Load More Replies... The dependence between parents and children starts to loosen the day they are born, and this process is meant to ever continue until adulthood. However, the bond formed in those early years can last. And, even more importantly, the values they grasp from the way YOU life (rather than what you teach them) will likely stay with them for a lifetime.
When my boys were young, I used to kiss them all the time - to the point they would joke about me being the "kissy monster". They would ask me why I kissed them so much, and I always told them: "One day, you won't kiss me any more, and I have to collect enough kisses to last me a lifetime." Fast-forward through the divorce with their mother, to her lying to them about me, and we're now estranged and haven't spoken in over 10 years. 😢
Time and Tide wait for no one. Ten years from now we will all be ten years older (assuming we are alive). My advice, play with your kids because once they are older you will never be able to get those moments back.
hopefully they will settle close by... it will be nice to have them back for visits...
I can't have children and reading this makes me so sad for all the memories I'll never make.
Just because you can't have biological children doesn't mean you can't have kids or make those memories. You can adopt, or date / marry someone with children. If you adopt, don't overlook the "older" children (many people only want a baby or very young child), because guess what? They want those memories, too. But their chances to make them get smaller every day.
Load More Replies... 
77
13