Far Away

Today my older daughter is having eye surgery and I am feeling a bit blue because I am not there with her.  I am fairly certain that in the "Mommy Manual" it clearly states that Mommies must be with their children whenever they are sick or in hospitals or have surgery of any kind. The "Navy Manual" however clearly contradicts the Mommy manual and thus, I am here and she is there. I know as our children get older we can't always be there for them, but I still haven't yet accepted that reality.  If it were up to me, I would be there for everything! I have been eagerly sitting by my phone for news of her surgery and how she is doing.  I do know she made it out of surgery okay, but wasn't feeling great.  I hope she is doing better now.  I realize that worrying absolutely serves NO purpose but again, I believe worrying is just one of those Mommy things that try as you might, you can never put aside. It comes with the job description. I know the next 72 hours will be tough for my daughter so I just hope she feels better with every passing hour. In addition to being far away from my older daughter - I am also far away from my younger daughter as well.  She and my mother left early this afternoon on a road trip. They are off visiting one of the colleges that my daughter applied to and doing the official campus tour. They were both so excited about the trip.  I have cute little puppies to care for and puppy work to do so I cannot go with them so the 2 of them headed off on their own adventure.  I have to admit - I am a little jealous.  My mom is the Queen of all road trips and makes every trip an adventure.  She is a lot of fun to travel with. They will probably stop at cute road side markets and have fun all day long.  I made them a big double batch of my famous popcorn so they have treats to keep them nourished along the way. I know the 2 of them will have an awesome time together.  My daughter and I visited several colleges on the east coast last summer and we had a blast.  I am a little blue to be missing out on this trip but at the same time, I know my mom will remember taking her granddaughter on the fun college road trip and it will be something special that the two of them can share. Being far away from both my girls today is yet another reminder that my children are growing older and that my responsibilities as a mom are ever changing. As they grow, so does my heart. I just fill the bigger space up with the beautiful memories of the long road through life that we have traveled together. And in every memory - they are still young enough to hold my hand as we journey along to destinations yet unknown.