Are You a Normal Mom?

I’m not a parent yet, but for years, I’ve wondered if I’m just over the top when it comes to this topic. I’ve babysat for countless children, a few of whom I’ve watched grow up since they were babies, and it’s always so hard for me to accept when they reach certain milestones: becoming a teenager, getting a driver’s license, graduating from high school, and then from college. I’ve always “jokingly” said that “I’m going to need to be on somebody’s therapy couch when my own kids grow up,” but there’s a small part (well, large part) of me that wonders if I’m really joking.

This is how I’ve explained it to many people, including a friend at brunch last week: There are so many experiences in life that, if we truly wanted, we could relive and recreate. When I think back to meeting my friend for brunch and think, “I’d love to do that again. We should schedule brunch again at that same restaurant in a few weeks,” I could call and suggest that, and we could plan to do it again. But no matter how much I want to relive rocking a baby to sleep, a “baby” who is now 16 or 18 years old, it can never happen. No matter how much I beg them to block off just one night in their schedule, it just can’t happen, and that to me is so devastatingly sad! There’s just something not right about it. And like I said, I’ve always wondered if my feelings are normal. Sure, parents are sad when the time comes for their kids to go off to college, but are my emotions about it just way too intense?

Well, I now know that at least one person shares my sentiments (please forgive the “language”). I love this clip! It not only made me laugh, but it gave me a small slither of validation.

In this clip, Kyle and her family (“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”) are at the airport, taking her second oldest daughter to college.