Senior Moment

It started last year at a movie. Dancer Daughter and I had a date and, of all things, the movie was High School Musical 3. (Don’t judge me people.) The movie was centered on the last year of high school and moving on. I will tell you, I cried a little. I mean, hello, these kids were leaving their parents behind!

Next the movie, The Blind Side. (loved) At the end (spoiler alert), the parents are dropping off their son at college. The mom quickly says good bye and hurries to the car to wait for the rest of the family to say their good byes. Can we say major tears?!

Our Writer Daughter is graduating from high school soon. High. School. And although, as of this moment, she will commute each day to and from college, our family dynamic will change.

Time has flown by. We are planning Writer Daughter’s graduation party. Did you hear me? Graduation party...how did this happen?! When your child is an infant, parents who have teens tell you to enjoy it because it flies. Do parents of infants ever believe that? I know I didn’t at the time. After all, sleep deprivation does that to you! Now, I wonder, “Where has the time gone? My (oldest) baby is an adult. Surely I haven’t gotten old, have I?”

Parents of adults have told me for years, “This is why we raise our children…to fly away and be on their own.” Or, “You have to cut those apron strings”. Honestly, I don’t like those little lectures. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want them living with us forever. Seriously. However, I just don’t find these statements very positive.

I guess I never felt like we were raising our kids to leave us. Instead, I felt like we were trying to prepare them. Prepare them for their own home. Prepare them for their future spouse. Prepare them to love others. Prepare them to support themselves and one day a family. And yes, prepare them to be productive members of society who won’t be living with us forever.

Oh, I have concerns about each of those “prepares”. Have I done enough to prepare them? Have I done too much for them? Then I take a look outside of myself. God is the ultimate parent. What we haven’t been able to “prepare” them for, God will. I haven’t a doubt.

One day you’re sitting in a rocking chair softly singing her back to sleep. The next thing you know, boom, she is an adult. Now she flies as she was meant to fly…with God as her guide.

May God richly bless you, Sarah, as you take this world on with Him. May you always seek Him in everything you do. May your words, both spoken and written, be forever beautiful and worshipful to Him. And always, always dance only for Him and with Him. We love you.