WE dON'T reMEMBER oUR cHILDREN'S fIRST sTEPS

Submitted by Kathy Haselmaier

"We should all be focusing on more meaningful stuff."

In fact, we don't remember a lot of things. We don't remember their first words, first smiles or the first time they ate mashed potatoes.

Here's what we do remember. We remember when our daughter sat on a rock in front of our house waving to people as they drove by in their cars. We remember when she proudly insisted on wearing her Brownie Beanie into school when she was in the second grade. And we remember the days she graduated from college. We remember when our son's preschool teacher described the way he played house with the other kids in his class. We remember the time he held a rock "up his nose" for hours (without our knowledge, of course). And we remember the speech he gave during his high school commencement ceremony. We also remember the time we left the suitcase filled with family "essentials" on an airplane as we started a big vacation. And we remember the time we were walking on a beach together and our son kept throwing minnows that were washing ashore back into the water. He was convinced he was saving their lives.

So when I read this headline: "Latest News: Serena Williams missed her daughter's first steps - but other moms had her back - Working mothers often have to make sacrifices and Serena Williams is no exception", I nearly fell off my chair. For two reasons.

First, who really cares? Apparently Serena does, or did, based on her Tweet which, along with the responses, inspired the blog post. She's a new mom. I get it. And I have some good news for her.

And second, how is her husband, Alexis Ohanian, holdiing up? Did he witness the first step? And, if not, is he upset? Did he cry? I'm not concerned enought to check.

Headlines and stories like these do not help working parents. They don't help any parents for that matter. They distract us from the things that really matter (so much more). A child's first steps are exciting ... at the time. But it doesn't take long to realize that, in the big scheme of things, assuming a child's development tracks an expected path, first steps aren't very important.

​We should all be focusing on the important stuff. Like saving minnows.

​Kathy Haselmaier is a mother, wife, and the editor of Working Parent Stories. She and her husband worked full-time while raising their children.