Bittersweet

Something kind of extraordinary happened yesterday.  Jay put our Christmas tree up.  I know what you're thinking, big deal, and normally I'd think the same thing.  However, our tree is a monster to put up.  It's 12 feet high and the heaviest piece is close to the top so somehow you have to balance yourself while using all your muscles to get the tree together.  It is no easy task.  Mike puts the tree up every year but this year he's working like a maniac.  I thought it would be nice if we tried to save Mike the horrendous job of putting the tree up.  It was a risky move on our part because usually when we try to "help" Mike with a job, it back fires and creates more work for him (like the time Nick and I were helping him sand shiplap and we knocked his entire table saw over).  More times than not, we break or destroy something in the process.  Jay and I were the only ones home yesterday and when I asked him if he thought we could do it, he was on it!  Before I knew it Jay had brought in the enormous ladder and had our tree put together in no time.  He did it flawlessly and trust me flawless is never a word I use to describe the work Jay does.  He's a "good enough" worker, like his momma.  As I watched him put the tree up I wondered how I got to this point with my son, he was turning into a man right before my eyes.  Through the years he had watched his dad put up the tree and knew exactly what he was doing.  He even knew how to fix the lights that didn't work.  He was agreeable and it warmed my heart in a bittersweet way.  One of the first ornaments I put on the tree this year was the recording of Jay saying, "Hi mommy, Hi daddy," when he was 18 months old.  I play that recording and I sigh, remembering his sweet voice and personality at that age.  As moms we watch our children grow and we experience growing pains with them.  As their body grows and they mature physically and mentally, our mom hearts expand even more.  I think there is that one moment with every mom when it hits us.  We realize our babies aren't babies anymore (my mom can relate exactly when it happened for her with me and I will always remember the Christmas tree moment with Jay), and we wonder where all the time went and that maybe, just maybe our hard work is paying off!