My Daughter, My Husband, and Me

This week, my daughter turned twenty-five years old and my husband turned sixty years old. When we brought our baby girl home from the hospital, it was his thirty-fifth birthday. I was exhausted and overwhelmed and when we walked in the door, I handed him our daughter and said, “Happy birthday honey. I’m going to bed.” What a wild ride it has been and what lessons we have all learned since that day twenty-five years ago.

Our daughter is gainfully employed and living her best life in New York City. I’m not sure what I pictured for her on that September day in 1997, but she has far exceeded any expectation I had of what it would be like to raise a daughter. She makes us laugh constantly. She’s determined, fierce, loyal, and just the right amount of snarky to keep us on our toes.

I can’t speak for my husband, yet I have no doubt of his love for her and the gift she has been in his life. Sixty sounds old, yet my husband doesn’t look so old to me. Maybe because I’m sixty as well. I’m sure he would credit a few of his very limited grey hairs to raising three children, and a few specifically from our daughter and her shenanigans. Each grey hair and each wrinkle was worth it for the wonderful adult she has become.

When our children grow into successful adults all the grey hairs they gave us look like well-earned prizes. #parenting #emptynest #aging Click To Tweet

Our oldest son turns thirty next year and time marches on. It feels strange to have children who are full-on adults. I couldn’t picture it when they were younger and my imagination never could have done them justice. Turning sixty was a huge milestone, and our children’s milestones add to the constant change that comes with being a family.

I’m so grateful for my family, for all of the adventures, for each and every birthday, for the worries, successes, challenges…absolutely all of it. September has always been a big month of celebrating and now my son and his wife celebrate their wedding anniversary in September as well. These milestones always make me emotional. I miss my sweet babies and I love my adult children. Both are true. My husband and I celebrate our sixtieth birthdays this year and as old as that sounds, it’s really nice on this side of that number.

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC