Here we are! It’s the final countdown before school starts again. Where did the summer go? My oldest son is off to college in Georgia, while my youngest will be starting 8th grade. When I reflect back over the summer, I’ve done an awful lot of traveling! Most of it revolved around taking our son to various local and out of the area camps. We went to the Dominican Republic to celebrate my oldest son successfully graduating from high school and obtaining his private pilot’s license. He did that right before his 18th birthday!! Yes, you read that correctly, he became a pilot at 17 years of age. We are so proud of him!! His long-term goal is to fly aircrafts for the United States Coast Guard.
I had no idea that when I wrote about courage last week that it would be applicable to me right now. As parents we can only hope and pray that we have adequately prepared our children to launch out into the world on their own. It would seem that their courage journey started at a young age. Neither my husband or I have immediate family in South Texas. As youngsters, we’d send our boys to stay with grandparents or other family members so they could feel that sense of connection. There have been quite a few times where I watched them walk down the jet bridge on their own to take a flight to Dallas or Virginia. These experiences taught them how to speak up for themselves, be attentive to their surroundings as well as ask for help. They learned how to embrace the unfamiliar circumstances of overnight camps. They learned how to make friends quickly and how to be independent.
Reflecting on this now, I recognize that doing this for them is going to help me get through the next few days. As my oldest son prepares for college, despite the nervousness that I feel, I think he’s ready. I know that the likelihood of him returning home to live for more than the summer months is fairly nonexistent. I’m prayerful that we’ve taught him what it means to be a young black man in America. I’m confident that he’ll make the right decisions and when he doesn’t, he’ll be accountable, get back up and learn from his mistakes. I honestly believe that we have taught him well.
I’ve often shared with him that there isn’t a playbook for parenting, especially for the first time around. I’ve made mistakes with him, I’ve not always listened when I should, and I’ve had to apologize a time or two. I believed that what I was doing at the time was in his best interest. He seems to have fared well.
So, to the other parents who are on this same journey, I’m right there with you. Take a deep breath and trust that they are ready. But more importantly, so are you. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to be excited for the next steps! Prayerfully, everything will be ok.
Go Bulldogs!!
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