Overwhelmed

An Uncle and Aunt gave me this book when Jonah was born. The idea of the book is to complete it (fill in the blanks) over the course of his life, giving it to him when he gets married. In the end it would contain all kinds of information about his family, his heritage, his mother's inmost thoughts about things like "What I always meant to tell you..." and "The image I'll always have of you..." and "Goals you've reached..." and "The feelings I experienced the moment I first held you..." and so on. It is filled with all kinds of beautiful quotes and illustrations, and I can never pull it out and read through it without starting to cry. I just become so overwhelmed. I can't even explain it.

I haven't even begun to start writing in it yet, and hope that one day I will have the courage to start it and the persistence to complete it (not to mention the memory skills required). I'm such a perfectionist that I would want it to be just right and totally complete.

Here are two quotations the author includes:

The mother-child relationship is paradoxical . . . It requires the most intense love on the mother's side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent. ~Erich Fromm

I hope my son looks back upon today
And sees a mother who had time to play.
Whether the work was done, or it was not;
Who realized chores are sometimes best forgot,
There will be years for cleaning house and cooking,
But little boys grow up when we're not looking.
~Barbara Overton Christie