When a child is initiated into the larger community of their faith, friends and family often mark the event with a gift to the parents or child that represents an aspect of their spiritual tradition.
The transition from being a couple to becoming parents--and a family--can be as daunting as it is rewarding. Some obvious but gigantic shifts have to do with basic personal time, like the care of your own body, which quickly becomes a thing of your distant past--ha ha!
Where did the last 18 years go? I've paid close attention to my role all these years as a parent, so thankfully I have no regrets of wishing I had been more present. And yet, on driving our first born up to college for her first semester, the sense of this day having snuck-up on me still manifested.