There are hundreds of sweet moments after ushering a newborn into the world. Most of them deal with firsts; the first heart-melting smile, the first luxurious sleep through the night, the first shaky step. Sweet indeed. But none of those can compare to the first words.
Not the babblings from a cooing baby – as precious as they are. These coveted first words come down the road.
Way down the road.
It was an ordinary day when I experienced those extraordinary FIRST WORDS. My recently engaged daughter called after a particularly frustrating day making life-after-marriage plans with her fiancée. Her three words made every hard choice that had left me second guessing my parenting skills worth it.
“Hi Mom. I just wanted you to know that I get it.”
“Get what?”
“I get why you always wanted me to get my stuff done sooner than later.”
I am confused, mumbling appropriate uh-huh’s with one portion of my brain at her litany of frustrations. Another portion is trying to figure out if I just experienced a parent-validating moment — all the while trying to rewind the conversation and savor for a moment those three words. I get it. I get it.
She gets it!
The next time came post-wedding while hauling boxes up the stairs to their one-bedroom apartment on a sticky, August afternoon in North Carolina. The air conditioner cranked away barely keeping up as we trekked back and forth through the open front door. After one such trip she pulled me aside.
“Mom,” she said. “Could you guys close the door after you come in each time? We’re paying for this air conditioning.”
I literally bit my tongue to stop the response about all the times we had asked the same thing in vain. Instead I said “Sure, honey”, and shared a delicious eye-roll with my nearby husband.
The lessons were coming faster now. As she navigated getting her car insurance transferred from us to them, she sent a text when the deed was complete that ended with “This adulting is not fun.”
But my most treasured communication came on an unremarkable afternoon a few months into married life. My phone pinged. I picked it up and read:
“Been sitting in the parking lot in my car listening to NPR and won’t leave until the program is done. I’m turning into you.”
It was worth the wait. I read it several more times even as tears blurred the words.
Sweet words indeed.
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