Ready. Set. Engaged!

Jesse and Annie became engaged on May 21st :-) We're so very happy with them!  This sweet turn of events has prompted a few of my friends to ask me how I'm doing and if I was ready for this important FIRST in our lives. I find myself wondering, "What's ready?"  Was I expecting it? Yes.  I mean, I've been expecting it for quite some time and I actually had to work on not expecting it! Every time I thought I had it figured out, I didn't.

But, ready... What would that look like?

Is the question prodding at if I was emotionally prepared to see Jesse take this step?  If so, I think I was.

Here's the thing with these major life phases: they don't usually come sneaking up to shock the living daylights out of you.  I mean, they might.  But that's not the norm.

Was I ready to be Jesse's mom on the day I discovered I was expecting him?  Well, probably not.  But I wanted him and I was ready to get ready, and I had about 9 months to actually become ready.  And was I completely ready to be his mom on the day he arrived?  Well, I think I was ready to be his mom THAT  day.  And that day prepared me for the next one.  I wasn't ready for him to walk that dear March morning, but I was given about a year to psych up for the eventuality.

And when he walked, was I ready for him to jump off cliffs into the clear Atlantic below?  No, I certainly was not.  Not any more than I was ready for him to scale the sides of mountains or bomb hills or head into the night to play a gig in the underground music scene of a European city, or leave home for college.

But those things came in time.  Good time.   I watched him take increasingly steady steps and my confidence in his way-making grew with him, slowly enough, but continuously.  Jesse showed me that he knew how to walk, and how to choose a path.  He walked well. When we were very young, we'd hike out and Byron would tell me to trust my feet.  In the same way, I've trusted Jesse's feet.  I guess I've trusted his feet because I've trusted his heart.

So, Jesse takes this next step.  He starts down this new path.  Am I ready?  With every ounce of me, yes.  Yes, because he walks well, and because he's gained the most wonderful person to journey with from here on out.