Grieving Your Children Growing Up

There's no doubt in my mind that these feelings are common for moms. It's so hard to watch them grow up so quickly.

Last night, I put my littlest baby girl in her own bed, in her own room, for the first time.

I should have been happy. Happy she's growing up. Happy to have my own room back. Happy I don't have to worry about my husband snoring her awake in the middle of the night. It marks the beginning of the end of so many sleepless nights and early mornings. In real life, this is where I'd insert a joke about how I haven't slept through the night in five years, and how great this move will be because if I put Desitin on my toothbrush one more time during the hazy edges of the day, my mouth is going to suffer an identity crisis.

But as I laid her in her bed and walked away last night, all I could feel was a gripping sense of loss.

It starts the moment a baby is born. After being a physical, real part of me for almost a year, suddenly she's not. They cut the cord, and the process begins. In no time, she's sleeping out of my arms and in a whole different part of the house. Soon, she'll be running off to school. One day, she'll move out and start her own life, her own family.

It's natural. It's good. It's the process of life. But for a moment, when the Band-Aid starts to rip, it feels a lot like grief.

You can read the rest of this amazing essay on Huff Post. When you're finished, leave a comment and share whether or not you're struggling with your little ones growing up.