#211 The Final Break-up (With a Whole Lot of Love)

They say raising a son is like a slow break-up.

And it’s true.

It starts with the backpack instead of the lunchbox.

The closed door instead of the morning snuggles.

The deeper voice that calls “Mom” with less need

and still, thank God, with love.

And now, here we are. The final stretch of the break-up.

The moment where my baby boy becomes someone’s husband.

Ryder is engaged.

He’s chosen Paige, a woman I adore.

A woman I prayed for without even knowing her name.

She’s steady and smart, funny and full of light.

And what makes my momma heart rest easy?

She loves my son…deeply, completely, naturally.

And he loves her and her family just the same.

He’s been embraced by them in a way that tells me:

he’s safe, he’s seen, and he’s cherished.

And still, even in all the beauty…

I feel it. The ache.

The quiet wonder:

Will there be enough space for me?

Will I still be one of the firsts he calls when life hits hard, or when he needs to celebrate something that only I remember from his little-boy heart?

I know there will be things he’ll tell her first now.

Thoughts, decisions, joys, frustrations…

the sacred everyday stuff that used to spill out of his heart,

now meant for her ears.

And that’s how it should be.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.

Or that I don’t wish I could still get in my car and go wrap them both in a hug when the distance feels too big.

So much joy.

So much change.

Our six-handed circle will soon be 8 waiting for even more hands to

complete the circle.

Whole and holy in a new way.

And though this feels like the final goodbye to the little boy

who once needed me for everything,

Ryder gently reminds me on the reg…

“I loved you first, Momma.”

And with that,

I remember:

I’m not being left behind.

I’m being carried forward.

Woven into the next chapter.

Part of the root system that will hold them.

This isn’t the end.

It’s a holy handoff.

From my heart to hers.

From one sacred love to the next.

With tears streaming down my face with immense joy and a bit

of heartbreak…take care of him, Paige.

I couldn’t ask for a better partner for Ryder to live his life with.

What for a few moments felt like an empty place in my heart,

is now filled by my love for you.

My heart, though tender, is so full.

Love,

Mom