Letting go... again

We went through it with Jeremiah. When he was a baby, the first time his aunt drove away with him and left me standing on the porch was painful. They were only going to spend a few hours together. His first day of kindergarten I cried all the way to work. But over the years we got a little better at "letting go". Sure, there were tears when we left him at college that first day. And there will be more at other stages of his life along the way. But we kind of know what to expect and generally handle it pretty well.

So why was it a such a shock the first time we dropped Juliana off at a stadium to watch the 8th grade football game? It was hard to watch our "baby daughter" go off by herself. Maybe because we know she's growing up, and there will be more separations to come. Until, like Jeremiah, we see her occasionally when her busy life allows it.

This is as it should be. We want our kids to grow into independant, capable adults. But sometimes I still feel like I'm standing on that porch watching them leave me behind.