Growing up is hard

Parenting is a wild adventure

“Growing up is hard,” I told my daughter. She asked, “For me or you and Dad?”

“Yes, it’s hard for all of us,” I responded. And it is. Because parents are learning in the releasing, and it is not always easy. While my daughter headed out to take her practice driving test, I thought of many days prior where I watched her venture out on her own.

She taught herself to swim (which involves many funny stories for another day). I was swimming alongside her one day and as we arrived at the other side, she looked at me and stated, “I am going to swim to the other side by myself, you stay here.” And off she went, navigating other people, children playing, arriving at the other side. As she held onto the side of the pool, she turned and smiled then yelled, “You can come now!” Little did she know I had been holding my breath until she safely reached the other side.

Another summer she was riding her bike while I walked close by. She paused and asked if she could ride ahead of me. “Can I go faster so you can see me but I’m not right beside you anymore?” Yes, child, that is exactly what you are supposed to do. I fought the urge to say no, but knew I had to trust her to watch for cars and make it safely home.

In two days, she will be able to take a vehicle out on her own, without the requirement of an adult being beside her making sure everything goes well (though she would say making it more stressful). In two years, we will move her into a dorm room hours away from us.

Growing up is hard because we never stop growing.

Let me be incredibly clear, we have an amazing daughter. She is wildly talented, wickedly funny, and enjoyable to be around. She loves others well and has steered clear of trouble teens commonly find themselves in. Even so, we have made one mistake after another in our parenting. And I realized the other day, many of those mistakes were made out of wanting to fiercely protect her. But has our protection hindered her? I wonder if she will doubt herself because of how we (I) handled situations.

There is no greater joy than watching her become who God is calling her to be, and there is no greater act of faith in parenting than trusting Him to watch over her as we release her.

We are crossing over a major milestone on Tuesday. She is ready, I just hope her father and I are too.