Thankful

It was really short but I am so very thankful for the time that we had with our oldest this Thanksgiving holiday. This phase of our lives with him – away at college living on his own – still feels very new. The time we have face to face with him is oh so very precious because it is so few and far between visits. After dropping him off at the airport this morning, we talked about what really defines this phase now: a series of hellos and goodbyes. The hellos are always sweet and the goodbyes are always bitter. But for me what makes the goodbyes a little more palatable is perspective. I realize that he is making his way in the world. He is pushing daily towards his dreams. In order for him to realize true adulthood and independence, he has to distance himself from the security of our decision-making. He has to develop his own clarity around situations. He has to decide what kind of man he wants to be and plant the right seeds that will manifest themselves in that man. It’s a thrill watching him grow and learn albeit painful at times as you want to protect your children from the pitfalls you didn’t avoid. But certainly we learned from our failures as well as our successes and I know he will do the same. I would never want to cheat him out of the nicks and bruises that sometimes accompany life. I know they’ll make him stronger.

He is a fantastic young man! Whatever small part of helping him become fantastic that I may have contributed, I am very happy for that and that’s all I need. He has my full support in whatever he feels like he needs to do, to do him. I know he’ll be great because in my eyes he’s already a winner and a big success.