You feel a little melancholy that they will never be the little ones that sit on your lap and listen to your every word and look at you adoringly. Those days are over.
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Being a mother has been a masterclass in letting go. Try as we might, there's only so much we can control... As mothers, we just don't want anything or anyone to hurt our babies. But life has other plans.
Motherhood has taught me that, most of the time, my job is to give them the space to explore and develop into the people they want to be.
My hope is that, sometimes as parents, we do for our kids what we can't find to do for ourselves.
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I love our daughters more than anything in the world — more than life itself. And while that may not be the first thing that some folks want to hear from an Ivy League educated lawyer, it is truly who I am.
I see now how important that kind of freedom is for all children, particularly for girls with flames of their own — flames the world might try to dim. I know that not every girl is like me, including my own daughters.
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With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models.
We can do with a lot less, and I think that's an important lesson I want my kids to understand. Be grateful for what you have and be ready to share it when the time comes.
When a father puts in long hours at work, he's praised for being dedicated and ambitious. But when a mother stays late at the office, she's sometimes accused of being selfish, neglecting her kids.
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They're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night.
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We made sure they had responsibilities, and so, we had to do things like institute rules that the housekeepers couldn't clean the girl's rooms and that they had to make their own beds, and have a set of chores.
You want to be able to have wonderful experiences privately, like any other kids.
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When you have children, you have to be fiercely organized to get anything done. I learned that if I don't put myself up on the priority list, my kids will eventually get knocked down on the list.
Am I good enough? Yes I am.
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You can't be so afraid that life will break them that you don't prepare them for life. Sometimes our fear keeps us from pushing our kids out into the cold cruel world.