一位母亲在带孩子外出时，偶遇一位陌生人，她的一句话引发了作者对亲子关系的深刻思考。这位母亲分享了这段经历，讲述了她如何从最初的震惊和不安，逐渐转变为对亲子关系的理性认知和积极经营。文章强调了珍惜与孩子相处的每一刻的重要性，以及培养孩子独立自主的同时，维系亲情纽带的愿望。作者通过自身的经历，表达了对未来亲子关系的期望，以及对为人父母的深刻感悟。

👶 故事的开端：作者回忆了自己作为新手妈妈的经历，以及第一次带孩子外出的情景。在杂货店里，一位陌生女性的一句话触动了她，让她开始思考未来的亲子关系。

👵 陌生人的忠告：这位陌生女性告诉作者要珍惜与孩子相处的时间，因为她的儿子长大后不再联系她。这句话给作者带来了冲击，也引发了她对亲子关系的思考。

🤔 深刻的感悟：作者意识到孩子终将长大，会有自己的生活。她开始有意识地培养与孩子的亲密关系，希望未来孩子即使独立，也愿意与她分享生活。

💖 积极的应对：作者坦然接受孩子终将离开的事实，并以此为动力，努力做好母亲的角色。她希望与孩子建立一种即使分开也能保持联系的亲情关系。

🌱 十年后的回望：时隔十年，作者的儿子已经11岁，她仍然记得当年的经历。这段经历让她更加珍惜与孩子相处的时光，并努力维系亲情纽带。

I was still figuring out how to do things outside the house when a stranger stopped me.She said her son didn't call her anymore, and told me to enjoy my time with my baby.Over 10 years later, I still think about what she said.

I was a brand-new mom and still not used to having a baby. In fact, I was still getting used to taking him out anywhere.

For many months at the beginning of my motherhood journey, our biggest outing was the grocery store. I would keep him in his car seat, carefully place him inside the cart, and then drape a blanket over the top, leaving an opening so that I could still check on him.

Then a stranger said something to me that I still think about to this day.

A stranger approached my son and me at the grocery store

I had just entered the store with my baby tucked away in the cart when an older woman came over to me in the deli. Without saying anything to me at first, she peered over the blanket to get a good look at my son, who was still very small.

As if almost speaking to herself, she said, "Enjoy it. My son never even calls me now." Then, she just walked away. I remember feeling very taken aback.

When I got home, I called my aunt to tell her about what had happened. She was the person I called for all my new parent questions, like "Is this normal?" or "What should I do?"

She seemed upset about what the woman had said. I got the impression that maybe it had hit a little too close to home for her, as it had for me, since she also had a young son.

As I processed the woman's comment, what I thought the most was that I didn't want to have a son who grew up and never called me. Here I was with a baby who consumed my every waking thought and almost all of my time, but the idea of him growing up and becoming more and more distant from me had been introduced to me.

A decade later, I still think about what she said

My son is 11 now, and over a decade later, I still think about this encounter every now and then. It really set the tone for the kind of relationship I wanted to have with my son.

I wasn't going to put any less effort into parenting than I already was, but I wanted that effort to be mindful. I wanted to make sure I was fostering a relationship with him that felt like a place he would want to visit as an adult.

I became so acutely aware that one day he would go off on his own. And that made me really want to be present for all of it, as I saw that every stage of his life was going to be temporary.

I knew that he would only be little for so long. I knew those things would still be there for me when he grew up, but he would not.

She struck fear into me, but I'm grateful for it

While the woman's words initially terrified me, I've grown thankful for the encounter. At the time, my aunt exclaimed that she shouldn't have said that to me and that my son would, of course, call me. But the truth is, neither of us knew that for sure.

I was able to accept so early on in my son's life that I could do my very best as a mom, and he still might grow up to barely talk to me. At my core, I knew there was nothing I could really do to completely prevent that.

To handle that fear, I constantly reassess whether I'm doing a good job. As long as I feel like I am, I know there will be less to regret one day when he's grown.

I realize that my son leaving the nest is the natural order of things and that he should leave me. I want him to have his own life that's separate from me. I just hope he wants to call me every once and a while to tell me all about it.