shelby took a literature class that studied the theory of liminality,
and her description of it transfixed me. arnold van gennep, a french
anthropologist in this past century, asserted that there is a threshold
between neither "here nor there" that we pass through.
intuitively, i understood it in the many stages of parenting, and it was
an 'eureka' moment. in this life, i will never arrive at that ceremony
in which medals are rewarded for gold, silver, and bronze in mothering.
on this side of the grave, i will always just be transitioning from one
stage of mom to another.
how bizarre is that? and how many times have we heard that our job
is over once we get them through high school? what a lot of bologna!
girls, and by girls, i mean wimpy, pathetic ME, we will be parenting
until we take our last breath.
hailey remarked in amazement when one of her very young friends
had her baby, "oh my gosh, mom, she is going to be a mom for the
rest of her life!" yep.
does it sound like i am complaining? i hope not, because i love my
children more than life itself. sometimes, though, i get overwhelmed
by the enormity and the consequences of my choices as a mom.
thankfully, i have a Father "who knows the number of hairs on their
head and has engraved them in the palm of His hand." (luke 12:7 and
isaiah 49:16) He has walked with us through many valleys, over vast
mountain peaks, along green pastures, under might ocean waves, up
rocky roads, on terrifying plane trips through turbulent weather . . .
(sorry, got a little carried away)
love,
lea
