One month from today, our family will celebrate a milestone -- we'll be the parents of a 21-year old!I think I'm supposed to feel some anxiety about this. But all of my anxiety was spent when this same child joined the Marines at 18, was deployed to Iraq at 19 and moved out at 20. So, after all that, his turning 21 should be a breeze. Right?
Does this mean we stop parenting? Worrying? Teaching? Is there some meter set to 7,660 days that's supposed to turn off the parenting switch? Well, if there is, mine's broken.
As I reflect on the past and the future, here are some things I hope he's learned from me:
- Treat everyone with respect. It's got nothing to do with them; everything to do with you.
- In relationships, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. And no complaining!
- Sometimes, it's ok to say absolutely nothing.
- Look a person in the eye when you say, "I'm sorry".
- It's ok to cry.
- Usually, the right thing to do is the hard thing to do.
- Take responsibility for your actions and their consequences.
- Where ever you are, my love is with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment