From Mommy To Mom

I've been in denial for the past week. My little girl is growing up--no!! She turned 3 in October, and about a week ago, started calling me something I thought I wouldn't hear until she was about 9 or 10.

The word? Mom.

Growing up, I called my mother "Mommy" until I was 13 or 14 years old. I was a teen and had been feeling some peer pressure from friends because I called my mother "Mommy." I could tell it pained her when I started to call her "Mom," but I felt like I needed a more grown-up title for her (she had said many times that she didn't ever want to be called "Ma" or "Mama"). She took it in stride and tried to not let it bother her. I guess since I was her only daughter, she enjoyed being my "Mommy," not just my "Mom."

And I guess that I took for granted that I would be a "Mommy" for many years to come. My son is 5 1/2 yrs old and still calls me Mommy. But my daughter is my baby, for now at least until we have our next child (nothing on the horizon as of yet).

But out of the blue one day a week ago, she called me "Mom" and that term of endearment has stuck ever since. I have no clue where it came from. Her brother calls me Mommy, her cousins call my sister-in-law Mommy...maybe from a friend in her preschool?

I thought at first that it was just a phase, something she'd say a few times and that'd be it. But no, I've heard that word come out of her mouth every day ever since, and "Mommy" has ceased to be a part of her vocabulary.

I, too, feel some of the pain that my mother felt when I started calling her "Mom." And I, too, am trying to take it in stride. I know that my kids will continue to grow and try to do things their own way as they are their own unique person. They are both precious in my sight, and either way, I love being their Mommy/Mom.