Endings...and Beginnings

The weeks continued to whisk by, and before I knew it, Labor Day was here.  Summer was unofficially over.  The lazy days and warm nights had ended.   A new school year had begun.  But this isn't just another school year.  This is the beginning of my son Parker's senior year...and at the same time it marks the countdown to the ending of his public school education.  Oh, I could go on about all of my thoughts regarding Parker and the years that have flown by and the questions about what lies ahead----but I will save that for another post. Senior year is kind of a weird year because you spend much of your time preparing for the future--graduation requirements, senior portraits, college visits and applications, and generally thinking about your child's life as a self-supporting adult.  At the same time, as parents especially, you do a whole lot of reminiscing and looking back over the past 18 years.  Doubting, wondering, hoping, praying....did I do everything in my power to set him up for success?  Will he be able to make a life for himself?  These are questions that can only be answered with time, I realize, but they still weigh heavy on my mind.
September was also an ending for our oldest son,  Ryan, who finished a five month schooling for his job in the military.  We were able to celebrate with him at his graduation ceremony  and spend a couple of days with him and his wife and baby in nearby St. Simon's Island. It was a bittersweet time with the three of them because just two days later they boarded a plane to Germany.  This was the beginning of a three year tour of duty and really the beginning of their "European Adventure" as I like to call it.  And, really the start of a life with some sense of normalcy and routine---both pretty important things for a family with a small child.  Being separated from them saddens us a lot---especially because we will miss practically the first three years of our granddaughter's life.  Yet, we are excited for the opportunities and experiences  they will have while living in Europe.
 I think I am learning more and more that life is a series of trade-offs, especially when it comes to your kids.  Tim and I have always encouraged our kids to get to know their world--read, travel, experience other cultures.  Of course, in order for that to happen, there is usually some separation that has to happen.  So, on the one hand, we are thrilled when they are able to experience the country/ the world.  The trade-off is that we have to let them go and do it.   OH, PARENTING, why do you have to be so hard?

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