Hold On and Let Go

4 SHORT years ago.

My oldest is halfway done with elementary school today.  When did that happen?  He is also very close to the halfway point to being an "adult" and in just as many years as he has spent with me he can go off and start his own life... without me.

I know this all sound selfish but you cannot show me a mother that is 100% happy about her child growing up.  I never thought I would be that mother, nor did I think I would be a mother at all (but that is a story for another time.)  The intensity of my love for my children surprises me still.  My heart swells with pride and aches at the same time as I watch them grow up and away.

This is what parenting is about: nurturing, loving and teaching your children to survive and thrive in the world.  It is bittersweet. 

Come Fall I will be dropping two kids off at school. While I am proud of the people they are becoming, I am also mourning the loss of their little kid years.  I understand that these transitions are a part of life and that I will get used to it, but bare with me as I type through teary eyes.  Be patient with me as I simultaneously learn how to hold on and let go.