Back To School Aisles

It’s getting closer to that time that we all dread. Letting go. Summer is in mid swing with the shadows of fall lurking in the distance and the aisles at stores are filling up with back to school items. The latest super heroes are finding their places onto new lunch boxes and back packs.

 I remember how overwhelming it was the first year I realized that I wouldn’t be taking my daughter school clothes shopping anymore. She could take herself. The years of choosing back packs together were being replaced with her very own checking account and searching for apartments. It is enough to take any mother’s breath away, especially when you have a good relationship with you kidlet.

You know that the world is full of hard knocks and lessons learned and I am here to say that my baby was not above being saved from some of those lesson. She has had her heart broken by boys… had falling out with roommates… moved more times than I can count, had cars towed and gotten in a few accidents, not to mention the parking tickets.  But the thing I hold on to is, she has survived it all.

She has graduated from school, obtained agents and fallen into some great job opportunities as she continues to reach for her goal of being an actress. Another thing we have both had to survive. Being an Actress is filled with rejection which for her is not easy to take and for me watching, is not easy. As parents, we spent a lot of time protecting and preparing our kids from some of those hard knock life experiences. We can’t help but be hesitant to push those babies out of the nest and yet we need to embrace the blessing of being able to let go and enjoy the flight.

Think about it… how sad would it be if the mother bird kept one last egg all to herself? She thought that she was protecting that baby and yet she was actually hindering it’s life. We have to remember that letting go is part of the process. We can’t sit on those eggs forever!

I am here to say it is survivable. It is a growing experience for us both. I know friends who’s kids still live at home and they don’t appreciate one another as much as I enjoy my kids. Life is a series of events and one big one is letting go.

While, those aisles of Back To School items still “get” to me every year, I have to say, I am glad for the next phase. I earned it. Sure, I enjoyed the times when I was needed for a ride to and from where ever it was that my kids needed to go and our talks to and from, time together during those rides. But I can’t say I miss the fights to get kids up in the morning and pack lunches and find homework while struggling to be on time for it all. Today, I get myself up and am beginning to write a new chapter.

I am learning to embrace the part of life that includes me, myself and I and as I pass by the Back To School aisles I may get a little melancholy but I realize that there is more ahead for me and Back To School Night has been replaced with a writing class for me!