A Mother's Job Is Never Done

Somehow I thought that once my children were adults, my days of constant worrying and mothering would be over. Well, not over, but at least fewer. They are adults now, for goodness sake, and should be responsible enough to take on most of their responsibilities, right?

How wrong that line of thinking was.

I've recently come to realize that my job as mother will never be over. This isn't a bad thing, really. I just wonder sometimes how, as mothers, we make it through with our sanity intact.

Tristan is a Sophomore in college this year, in another state mind you, and if I'm being honest, I have to say that I worry more about him and his well being more now than I ever did at any point in his childhood. He's six hours away from me now, left to his own devices most of the time because of the distance. Don't get me wrong. We still help him financially as much as we can, and he's just a phone call away if he needs to talk, but mostly I just feel helpless.

Helpless because I didn't see that he was struggling mentally with the pressures of college and money and life in general. Helpless because I didn't know he could quite possibly fail this semester because of the pressure. Helpless to help.

I don't know that being close to him would have helped him through those tough times. Probably not, but at least I could have hugged him and told him everything was going to be alright.

It seems that the dark times have passed for now, and it's good to hear a little confidence in his voice again. It's good to hear that he has ideas and plans for his future again. It's been a while since we've heard that. I'm thankful that the year is almost over and he will be home in a few short weeks. I can't wait to hug him close and reassure him that he's not alone.

I don't care how old he gets, I'm never going to stop being his mother. I'll never stop worrying.