She did it! (And so did we!)
Well, she
did it. She walked right across that big
ol’ stage, accepted her high school diploma, and has officially turned the page
of a new chapter. I sat in the audience
as a spectator. It wasn’t about me. It was all about her.
My friend
has a sweet baby girl; baby Ava is what we affectionately call her. They came to visit us last weekend and to
celebrate Addison’s graduation a little early with us at a party we held in our
home.
As my
friend changed her daughters diapers, breast-fed, and soothed her sweet baby
Ava … I watched my daughter mingle about with her friends, teachers, and adult
supporters. As my friend passed her
sweet daughter around for others to hold, coddle and snuggle with … I watched
as my daughter worked the room as an adult woman, offering and receiving words
of encouragement and hope.
As my
friend is fully learning to embrace being a first-time Mom … I am learning how
to embrace being a Mom to an adult child.
My friend has to learn to hold tight and invest deeply. I am learning how to let go and trust in the
investment I’ve made. Bittersweet.
During the
ceremony, as I comforted my sweet Parker who could no longer keep her tears
inside her heart, saw the occasional crocodile tears slip down my sweet Chris’
cheek, and saw Libby shoot Addison the “I love you” sign with her fingers
whenever she could catch Addison’s attention … I was OK. We had all made it. We arrived at the place we needed to
land. We landed with tears … but we were
all OK.
Life lesson
#1 in letting your child go … land well.
You will land with tears but you will land. The tears help soften the landing. I have no regrets.
Every time I
locked eyes with my Addison during the ceremony… knowing her thoughts … and
having her know mine … affirmed the
journey ahead. This new chapter has
begun. Woman to woman we enter into the
next thing … the next leg of this journey.
We have no idea what’s written on the next page. However, faith and experience has taught us
good principles. We just walk. We put one foot in front of the other and
just walk. You can’t get to the end of
the next chapter by standing still. We
walk.
And so …
let the new adventure begin!
1 comments
The big old crocodile tears that are choking me right now are all for you. I will be praying for y'all as you transition and learn to live with a partially empty nest. Addison is a beautiful young woman whose smile always makes my heart flutter...she will do great, and so will you. <3 Love you guys!
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