Out on their own.

It seems very hard to believe that another one of my kids is heading out into the real world. It shouldn’t be all that surprising since she has been away at college for 4 years, but it still is hard to comprehend where the time has gone. I know every parent says this when a milestone occurs. I know this is not the only graduation we are going to experience; our youngest daughter is graduating pre-school this week. (Although not technically the same as college, it’s one of the first steppingstones to being out on her own.)

Today’s “Snap. Shot.” is not all about taking a look back, it’s actually about taking a look around you and to see how you have performed as you move on to the next milestone.

This past weekend brought forth a lot of thoughts and emotions. Sure seeing your daughter graduate is a thought provoking moment, but there were many others. It made me take a look as to how all of our children have grown in a short period of time; it’s all relative because in some instances it has been a whopping 25 years of growth, working its way down to a mere 5 years. (Don’t tell that to our 5-year old.) My son has been out of school for 4 years---he has matured, found his path, and is now seeing a very nice woman who I can tell he has very deep feelings for.

As we move down the line, my oldest daughter has just graduated (see above if you missed it) so her agenda is laid out for her at this time; but you can be sure there will be some twists and turns along the way---it’s called life. Then we have our teenagers, in order of priority they are into friends, boys, friends, and boys---they go to school, but they live for the weekends and their friends. Sound familiar? They will find over time their priorities change, but for now, they are exactly what the “raising your kids book says”---“the teenage years are some of the most challenging, for you and them. Just deal with it.”

That brings us to our youngest; they are best friends yet like all siblings they really give it to one another when one pulls away something they want or is listening to something they feel they should be listening to on an iPod for example and to hear them argue is actually kind of funny. They will verbally duke it out and then tell each other they love each other. This is great, but they will be like the teenagers above in no time. That’s when reality strikes.

The photo above is from my daughter’s graduation---the one from college. What’s funny about this picture is not only the signs they have on their caps, but the guy in the sombrero. As ridiculous as this might appear, it made finding my daughter very easy as thousands of graduates walked in to the hall. It’s a good thing it wasn’t about finding the person using a cell phone---she’s talking on hers---that would have made finding her impossible.

Thanks for stopping by.