One of the hardest things to do as a parent is to let your children grow up. We want to protect them from the harshness of the world. We want to wrap them up in bubble wrap so that they do not get hurt. When they begin to drive our hearts race every time they get in their car and drive. When their hearts get broken, our hearts are broken too, and when they have failures, we cry with them because we know the pain of failure. We want them to grow up and accomplish more than we ever could. It is why we work as hard as we do. We want them to have the life that we didn’t have as children.
Soon the last of my children will be graduating from high school. There will be plenty of lasts for my wife and me. The last parent-teacher conference, the last sporting event, and the last high school graduation. Our hope is that we have given all our children the tools to succeed in the world. There are no guarantees. All we can do is love them, support them and hope for the best. My mother did that for me and my 2 brothers and we did test her, but she remained strong in her love and support for us. We will do the same for our children.
My son took his first long trip in a car alone today. His mother struggled and outwardly I remained strong in appearance but inside I was feeling those same fears my wife was feeling. The plan was I was going to go with him so he could have one more experience on the highway with someone. When I told my son that he was frustrated and said to me “Dad, I have everything planned out.” From that moment I knew it was time to let him fly. It is hard but just like my mom let me fly we had to do the same for him. He left this morning and made it to his destination. Now we will wait for 130 PM for the ride home.
I have been blessed with how my three children have turned out so far. I could not be prouder of them. But there is still a part of me that wants to protect them, but I know I must let them grow and become their own person. It is hard but it is necessary. They must take that journey, enjoy the successes, and learn from the mistakes just like we did. We can still treat the scrapped knee, but we must send them on their way back out into the world so that they can slay those dragons and create the life they want to have.
I want to say to my children. Your mother and I will always worry about you. We will always want to protect you, and we will drive you crazy. We love you and as long as we have breath. We will continue to be who we are. Your parents, your protectors, and your teachers. But we will let you grow so that you can become the people we know you can be and maybe one day you too will have the opportunity to raise children that you can be proud of like we are of you.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 