ROLE REVERSAL

My firstborn daughter and I were ordering tea in a quaint, vintage tearoom in Victoria British Columbia.  Confused and overwhelmed, I was relieved when Amazing Amanda helped me make my choice.

"Mom, I think you would enjoy the pomegranate/Roobius Tea, it doesn't have caffeine and you like those flavors."

I admired the way she efficiently translated the foreign currency and paid for our lovely tea served on a silver tray with a steaming porcelain pot.  

Wasn't it just yesterday that we were standing in line and I was the one confidently navigating the big scary world for my precious child?  

A few days later I overheard my kids confirming my travel plans and pick up arrangements.  When we were heading home after a wonderful trip to Alaska and Canada my youngest daughter, Hannah Jane, and I arrived at the Seattle Airport where she helped me check in and since we were heading to separate destinations she made sure we found my gate before finding hers.  Hannah carried my luggage, charged my cell phone and stayed with me as long as possible.  She repeatedly told me to text her as soon as I landed. Earlier that afternoon, Becca, my world traveler, reminded me of several travel tips which created vivid flashbacks of teaching my kids how to be independent, efficient and confident travelers. 

I am so thankful I was patient with my children while they were growing up because now they are patient with me.  I am thankful I was concerned and attentive because now they are concerned and attentive with me.  I am thankful I trained my children to become independent and efficient because now they can remind their aging Mama how to safely get from point A to point B independently.  

I'm thankful I taught my children to love and care for each other because it warms my heart to see them love and care for each other by communicating daily, knowing each other's schedules and always putting family first.  

I knew this day of parent/child role reversal was inevitable, I just didn't expect it so quickly. 

"It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings."  Ann Landers

"Children are little people who pass through our lives and turn into adults" Anonymous

"Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God." Psalm 84:3