Independence Day

There are so many thoughts running through my mind and so much I would like to share, that tonight I am struggling a bit with what to type here. For starters, I'll just say that my grandmother passed away on Wednesday night, not quite 12 hours after I saw her that afternoon. I know she is better off where she is now and that she will forever be Jonah's guardian angel.  With that I can begin to come to terms with her passing. 

This weekend, we were lucky enough to have a visit from two of Jonah's (6) grandparents.  What a lucky kid, right?! Since my dearest husband is out of town for work for a week (starting this past Saturday morning, poor guy!), I had a chance to bond with my in-laws on my own.  We had quite the philosophical conversation last night over dinner and a couple glasses of wine after putting my son to bed. We discussed the challenges of raising children at any age and the importance of encouraging them to be independent human beings - something I feel very strongly about as well because my parents taught me to value this too, esp. since I am an only child.

How do you go about instilling this in your children from the beginning of their lives?  Afterall, I spend most of my time worrying about him, even when he's just sleeping in the next room and I can see him on our high-tech video monitor... and according to my mother, this never stops.  Bring on the psychotherapists now! I think along with working with my husband to ensure Jonah is capable of someday taking care of himself, I am going to have to also work on how to keep myself sane since all I want to do is hold on to him tightly 24 hours a day. Too bad he's a squirmy little boy and only cuddles when he's tired or sick. Looks like he's already exhibiting his own sense of independence!