Independence is Scary

My son just turned one.  He is in the stage where he is happy playing by himself or crawling around and exploring, but then he gets upset when he realizes that I am not right there beside him.  We were in the library for story time the other day, and for awhile he was crawling around and playing really well.  Then he saw me a few feet away and started crying.  I muttered to myself that I just don't get it.  Why is he fine one minute and the next he is in tears? Another mom standing near me said, "Independence is scary, mom."

I've been thinking about her statement a lot over the last few days, and she is absolutely right.

I've thought about all of the times in my life that I have asserted my independence.  These were usually times when I was so excited to do something new and different, but at the same time I was scared to death. 

I can vividly remember the feeling of excitement and yet nervousness that accompanied me through the first few weeks of college.  It was the first time that I had been on my own, without my family and without my built-in group of friends from high school.  Or the feeling of being ready to drive, ready to exert that independence, and yet at the same time I was scared to do something wrong and get into an accident. 

So many times in our lives we have to take a big leap out of our comfort zone and into a world full of unknown factors.  Of course most of the time it turns out wonderfully, but that mom was right.

Independence is scary.  

This is an original Deep South Moms post.

Cassie also blogs at Southern Domestic Goddess.