I did not mind all the sacrifices but stealing my joy as a mother is beyond cruel

[lostnfound]

32. I remember all of those lovely things

It’s sad enough to say goodbye in your heart as children pass through those beautiful stages and on to the next.

One must look forward, not backward, as a parent. But I always thought “forward” would include visits to the lake house from my son...

Great poem by John Updike, Saying Goodbye to Very Young Children (excerpted, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/40867/saying-goodbye-to-very-young-children for original)

They will not be the same next time....
Their eyes will be more skeptical, plugged in
the more securely to the worldly buzz
of television, alphabet, and street talk,
culture polluting their gazes' pure blue.
...(adults)
who knew you from the start, when you were zero,
cooing their nothings before you could be bored
or knew a name, not even your own, or how
this world brave with hellos turns all goodbye.