Watershed Moments

A watershed moment is a point in time which cleaves, setting the ‘after’ on a different path than the ‘before’ leading up to that moment. The geographically-derived etymology of this term has to do with areas where water is divided by a ridge, causing it to drain off into two separate streams or rivers.

Some watershed events of our kids lives are only really grasped in hindsight. They met the kid that became their bestie. They picked up a book that sparked their obsession with reading.

But others are so blatant and obvious right there in that moment, that you can’t help but think “Wow, who woulda ever thought that little baby would one day…” Maybe these turning point moments are physical (their shoe size surpasses yours) or cognitive (you can no longer beat them in Connect 4) or emotional (they explain their hurt feelings to a sibling instead of erupting in anger), or mark a shift in their confidence, or character, or self-sufficiency.

Regardless of the nature of this watershed moment, tell your kid about it. Beyond just putting a timestamp on a significant event for future reminiscence, writing about and reflecting on it will help you to notice ever subtler shifts. And because it’s all too easy to forget about that time before the river split off … when their fingers were too small and fragile to interlace with yours, or when the rhythm of your days were dictated by the tyranny of naps ... it’ll remind both you and your kid of how things were miles and miles upstream.