Through my eyes

I guess as parents we always question our abilities beyond being just guardians and caretakers. Being a parent is not an easy task and having challenging sons, who are clearly super intelligent and self-opinionated, like mine, is even more of a 'flipping' task.

When we learned about the sudden death of my husband's school friend, we were both shaken, she was relatively young, fit and happy. Raising her daughters in Cape Town and enjoying a fulfilling life. Or so it seemed on Facebook. Anyway Justine passed away from an aneurysm last Friday leaving behind her two daughters.

It really shook me to the core. Parents die every day and they leave, I know that, but will my boys cope with life without me It gave me cold shivers thinking of leaving this earth and leaving my 'babies' gives me nightmares.

My mom gave me the stare down when I shared my paranoia. "When I was your son's age I was married with two children finishing my education." She said. "I coped with husband children and the mother-in-law."

It is always good to have a fresh perspective and yes, we cope when we have to cope, I mean what else do we do We cope and we moan and we move on. So when I read a small extract from my son's CV this weekend I felt reassured.

This is what he thinks of himself:

"I am a person that is very adaptable, dynamic and capable of performing a wide variety of tasks. I have an aptitude for developing interpersonal relationships and as a result I have the ability to market, sell and network very well. I consider myself to be a rather intellectual person and am able to comprehend things and I invest my intellect in my various interest which include; politics, culture, music and media in general. I was brought up in a family where both of my parents were journalists, entrepreneurs and avid travellers. I have been fortunate to have travelled to most of South East Asia, the greater portion of Europe and just about every country on the Southern portion of South America giving me a very diverse worldview and allowing me to relate to people from all walks of life."

I have no choice but to be immensely proud of my boy. Where did the time go It seems like yesterday I had to read to him each night before he fell asleep and look at him today

It reminds me of my favourite poem:

"Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday."

Khalil Gibran