School Night

Tonight is a school night! This is a very exciting night for parents and kids too. Mine are ready to go back...I think they are sick of me and need a change of pace. Now I could easily spend another three months with all of them in a one room hotel room with out going completely insane....not. We have had a great summer, but there is something about the night before school starts that is just ripe with anticipation. All the back packs are ready and school shopping complete, we've done this many times before. The kids just know the drill. I remember each time my kids entered kindergarten. What a huge milestone in their lives, it really marks a journey that will not end for more than a decade. It is also a huge milestone for a parent as well. It forces us to let go, to let them have a little independence...to walk away from us when we still want to hold their hands all the way. We cry because we know this day will never come again...it is a turning point in our child's life, in our life.

I have three children. It has been many years since I escorted them to a kindergarten class, yet that feeling of something new in the air, a new start, a fresh chance is ever present on this day. There aren't as many tears...maybe some. Maybe now the tears are for a different reason...or maybe not. My oldest is only two years away from graduating from high school. This feels harder than any good bye at the kindergarten classroom! My heart wants to break at the thought of him leaving. The journey that we as parents have prepared is nearly over for him. But the journey of his lifetime is just beginning.
We reach a point as parents when our children no longer depend on us for everything. They want their independence, they want us to know that they can make it on their own. I can only hope that we have given them the tools to make the important decisions, to make mistakes and learn...to come home when they need to feel safe and loved.

Life is worth the journey, we just need to sit back and enjoy the ride.
KO