I held the piece of paper with Amy’s schedule on it and looked for her first class. It was back to school night, which is an annual event for parents of school age children. This time, was different.
It was the last back-to-school night I would be going to with our daughter, Amy, who is now a senior in high school.
Transitions are not always easy.. but they are important for growth and maturity. They are natural and so is the tension and fear that goes along with it.
That is life.
I taught swim lessons for years. There were lots of tear filled anxiety moments as youngsters peered into the deep end, toes cautiously curled over the edge. I encouraged them to fully extend their arms out, clasp their hands together, and fall forward into water that was over their heads.
Some dove straight in, some.. well, it took a while to get the hang of it. But they knew that if they kept trying, they would eventually be able to dive into the deep end and be among the swimmers who were no longer restricted to the shallow end of the pool. The day the little swimmers passed the coveted “swim test” to cross over the buoy lined rope was always a big accomplishment.
The point is that the little swimmers had toexperience a “last” in order to enjoy a “first”.
How silly would it be to see our full grown kids wearing water wings? Yet, when it comes to seeing our kids teeter on the thresh hold of young adulthood, we are sometimes reluctant to let them jump in.
This is a year of lasts, but there is a whole new world just on the other side of rope.
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