Someday

At a recent event celebrating the engagement of friends, I found myself watching the groom’s parents. They were relishing the fact that their son is engaged to be married and that he was surrounded by such good friends.

We got to hear stories about our friend’s childhood; about how proud the parents are that he made such good, close friendships over his lifetime. At the party, there was a great mix of people he knew since he was six-years-old to college roommates and friends he’s made as a full-fledged grown up.

When I mentioned to the mom who my husband was, one of the college roommates, she began to tell me great stories that she had witnessed first-hand and heard from her son about my hubby and all the roommates.

I realized something—that’s how I hope to be when my kids grow up. I hope to one day celebrate major milestones and see them happily surrounded by the family they picked—their close friends. I hope to be able to tell stories because I was there when some of them happened. The time seems so far away.

As parents, we ultimately want our kids to be happy in their lives and successful in their chosen career. We want them to make wise choices when it comes to their friends and their life mate.

I hope that 20 or so years from now I am able to do what the groom-to-be’s parents did. Bask in the pride of a parent who can say “We did well.”

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Mom of two in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.