Milestones

In every life there are milestones. You know the kind; like when you get married, have a baby, the baby takes its first step, etc. Well, in my case, I got married and then had 11 babies and they all took their first step and said their first word and then time flew by. Today is one of those days when I get to reflect on milestones. It happens to also be my son's 16th birthday and therefore it is another one of those huge milestones.
For him it means a driver's license, for me it means getting behind the wheel with a newbie and hoping he knows how to steer, use the gas pedal and the brake pedal and does not have a lead foot. This is the 9th time I've been through this and I still hold my breath and hope for the best when they get behind the wheel.
Thankfully, I only have two more kids to go through this with and then I am home free, except...
Then they graduate from high school, get married and then there are grandkids and somehow, in all of this, mother never stops worrying about them all. Even if there is nothing I can possibly do to help them, I still worry. Not that worrying helps. It never does. I think it is a Mommy thing.
At one point in the last 4 or 5 years I had three of my sons and a step son in the military and three of them were in Iraq and one in the UAE. Now that was a time for intense worry and every report that came over the airwaves made me wonder if my boys were involved. To my great relief they all came home safe and sound. Now two of them are out of the service, one just got back to the states from a second tour and is with his family, and another son will be heading somewhere overseas soon.
So today as we celebrate the birth and life of one of my children, I must say that I am grateful for this time when I can stop and reflect, even if only for a brief moment, on the blessings I have been given. We've had a high school graduation this year and a marriage in our family, the youngest earned his Webelos rank in Cub Scouts, and the list goes on and on. These are all milestones, events in our everyday lives that make us stop and think and once again give thanks that we are here and life is precious.
Now, where is the seat belt and the car keys and the duct tape to put on my mouth, so I don't scream...