Forever a Child

The other day, my parents came home from a wedding banquet. In my mom's hands were a vase with a rose in it and a pink balloon. (I can tell the couple either have bad taste, or they let their parents take the reception planning reigns. Ha ha.) The first thing my mom said was, "Sandy! Sandy! I got you a balloon!!" Oh how sweet of my mom to get "Sandy" a balloon! Little Sandy was taking a shower at the time. And little Sandy is also 25 years old. No, not five, but 25. I said to my mom, "What? You got Sandy a BALLOON?? She's not a little kid." "Well, when I saw the balloon, I just wanted to get it for Sandy."

I thought this was very funny - a mother excited about giving her 25 year old daughter a balloon. As a parent, I guess they will always see their children as precisely that. Children. No matter how old we get, no matter how old they get, they will undoubtedly try to care for us as much as they can, remind us to lock the front door before going to bed, remind us we have to wake up early the next morning because we have work, give us unwanted advice, and the list goes on for at least a mile! My mom said so herself. In her eyes, she sees us as helpless children. I remind her on countless occasions that I'm not a baby, but a grown woman who loves independence. But why do I even bother? She's a stubborn woman, reluctant to see her children as grown ups. But she's also a loving woman, a mother who will do and have done so much for her children. She can give Sandy, or me, a balloon anytime she wants.

(The photo above is of me at almost two years old and my mom in Hong Kong.)

P.S. My dad is guilty of this too, but he doesn't give us balloons. He usually gives us food.