Guest Post by Cynthia Litman
Last weekend my family went to see Toy Story 3. Andy (the kid) is all grown up now and is ready to go off to college. He’s looking back on his childhood toys and having memories.
There’s a scene when he’s just about ready to go and he and his mom walk into his room for one final look around. All his stuff is packed up, the room is bare, the walls are stripped of his posters and pictures and the boy she raised is now a man.
The mom is standing there with her boy and you can just feel her heart. A room she’s spent so many years watching her son fill with his childhood memories now all bare.
I was holding my 2 year old daughter in my arms with my son sitting beside me and know that day will come for me as well. That bittersweet day when your child readies to take their first real step out of the nest. My son who is all of 3 feet now will one day stand taller than me. We’ll be looking around his room as he goes through the items he wants to take, store, donate or trash.
Then I looked to my left and my parents were sitting there. I remember having that moment with them where I was leaving for college. My sister was preparing to take over my room and excited to have all the spotlight. I was headed off leaving the childhood me behind to begin charting my own path.
A bittersweet moment indeed. I remember walking into my ridiculously small dormitory room and standing in wonder. What does this room have in store for me? My dad was with me and we immediately went to work in fixing up the room and taking an inventory of what I might “need.”
What I needed in my childhood home room was different than my dorm room and we ran off the checklist – my own small refrigerator, microwave, waffle iron, laundry basket, phone, computer, quarters for laundry, etc.
When I was all set up it was time to say goodbye. We knew this moment was coming for there was literally no room for my dad there. My dad gave me a super huge bear hug and said “be good, kid, I love you.” He then headed off for his 8 hour drive home.
All of those memories came flooding back as I looked over at my dad in the movie theater. No matter how many times I went off, he was always right there for me with a smile and a bear hug.
I look at my children now who are both under 5 years of age and wonder will they be as armed up and love all the new things that are introduced into their lives as much as Andy loves his Woody (okay that sounds weird, all boys love their woodies).
Will my kids have a rich imaginary life during their childhood that helps arm them for their future? Am I doing a good job with them? Will they walk off confidently into their new dorm rooms?
The other question I had watching the mother in Toy Story 3, was how am I going to be with an empty nest? I’m sure I’ll miss my children terribly but will I be evolved enough to have done my work so I have a life outside of my children? Will my husband and I still be connected and be able to adjust to life where it’s just us, like how it was in the B.C. era (Before Children)?
Time will tell. For now, it’s playtime.
To infinity and beyond.
Guest Post by Cynthia Litman. Cynthia Litman is a working mom of two delicious children and is the spiritual and visionary guide of Mommas Pearls. Cynthia began Momma’s Pearls in 2009 when her grandparents passed away as an outlet to remember and pass down their wisdom and provide support to other everyday busy parents. Mommas Pearls has since dovetailed into the Mommas Pearls blog,talk radio show and M’S Gems.
Cynthia is also an entertainment lawyer with a niche in spiritual entertainment. Her firm Cynthia R. Litman, Esq., PLLC caters to the spiritual entertainment market. She is a founding partner of The Spiritual Cinema Circle, a DVD club for spiritual films, Executive Producer of the Independent films “Lost In Sunshine” and “Boost”, production attorney for “Conversations With God” (film based upon the books by Neale Donald Walsch) and distribution attorney for Debbie Ford’s documentary film “The Shadow Effect” and Nicole Clark’s documentary film “Cover Girl Culture”.
Last weekend my family went to see Toy Story 3. Andy (the kid) is all grown up now and is ready to go off to college. He’s looking back on his childhood toys and having memories.
There’s a scene when he’s just about ready to go and he and his mom walk into his room for one final look around. All his stuff is packed up, the room is bare, the walls are stripped of his posters and pictures and the boy she raised is now a man.
The mom is standing there with her boy and you can just feel her heart. A room she’s spent so many years watching her son fill with his childhood memories now all bare.
I was holding my 2 year old daughter in my arms with my son sitting beside me and know that day will come for me as well. That bittersweet day when your child readies to take their first real step out of the nest. My son who is all of 3 feet now will one day stand taller than me. We’ll be looking around his room as he goes through the items he wants to take, store, donate or trash.
Then I looked to my left and my parents were sitting there. I remember having that moment with them where I was leaving for college. My sister was preparing to take over my room and excited to have all the spotlight. I was headed off leaving the childhood me behind to begin charting my own path.
A bittersweet moment indeed. I remember walking into my ridiculously small dormitory room and standing in wonder. What does this room have in store for me? My dad was with me and we immediately went to work in fixing up the room and taking an inventory of what I might “need.”
What I needed in my childhood home room was different than my dorm room and we ran off the checklist – my own small refrigerator, microwave, waffle iron, laundry basket, phone, computer, quarters for laundry, etc.
When I was all set up it was time to say goodbye. We knew this moment was coming for there was literally no room for my dad there. My dad gave me a super huge bear hug and said “be good, kid, I love you.” He then headed off for his 8 hour drive home.
All of those memories came flooding back as I looked over at my dad in the movie theater. No matter how many times I went off, he was always right there for me with a smile and a bear hug.
I look at my children now who are both under 5 years of age and wonder will they be as armed up and love all the new things that are introduced into their lives as much as Andy loves his Woody (okay that sounds weird, all boys love their woodies).
Will my kids have a rich imaginary life during their childhood that helps arm them for their future? Am I doing a good job with them? Will they walk off confidently into their new dorm rooms?
The other question I had watching the mother in Toy Story 3, was how am I going to be with an empty nest? I’m sure I’ll miss my children terribly but will I be evolved enough to have done my work so I have a life outside of my children? Will my husband and I still be connected and be able to adjust to life where it’s just us, like how it was in the B.C. era (Before Children)?
Time will tell. For now, it’s playtime.
To infinity and beyond.
Guest Post by Cynthia Litman. Cynthia Litman is a working mom of two delicious children and is the spiritual and visionary guide of Mommas Pearls. Cynthia began Momma’s Pearls in 2009 when her grandparents passed away as an outlet to remember and pass down their wisdom and provide support to other everyday busy parents. Mommas Pearls has since dovetailed into the Mommas Pearls blog,talk radio show and M’S Gems.
Cynthia is also an entertainment lawyer with a niche in spiritual entertainment. Her firm Cynthia R. Litman, Esq., PLLC caters to the spiritual entertainment market. She is a founding partner of The Spiritual Cinema Circle, a DVD club for spiritual films, Executive Producer of the Independent films “Lost In Sunshine” and “Boost”, production attorney for “Conversations With God” (film based upon the books by Neale Donald Walsch) and distribution attorney for Debbie Ford’s documentary film “The Shadow Effect” and Nicole Clark’s documentary film “Cover Girl Culture”.
