Letting Go

• Last month when I put my older son on the school bus for the first time.
• The time when I went to hold his hand and he pushed it away.
• The first time he woke up and dressed himself rather than wait for me to pick out his clothes.

These are all times when I’ve had to practice letting go.

It’s a funny thing watching your children grow up. On the one hand you are so proud of the human being they are becoming, but on the other hand you wish they would just stay little forever.

When we sign up to be parents we think we know what we’re getting into, but we really never do. We work hard to build up our children only to send them out into the world. Meanwhile we cross our fingers that what we think we taught them actually sticks.

My son is only in kindergarten. I can’t even imagine what it must be like when your child goes to high school, starts to drive, and eventually moves out!

In the meantime, I am letting go of the mother I used to be for him when he was a baby. Now that he’s older I still do my best to encourage him, but offer him more independence.

It’s hard, but it is our job as parents to not hold on. There is no way to protect our children from everything. We have to trust that we’ve taught them well enough so that they can make the best decisions on their own.

Are you a parent? How have you had to let go?