Parenting

I recently realized that in December I will have been a parent for 19 years. Time does fly. Considering I became a parent at 19, I will after this year have been a parent for longer than I was not a parent. It is hard to believe and also hard to let go. One of my favorite quotes about parenting is:
“It is one thing to show your child the way, and a harder thing to then stand out of it.” ~Robert Braul

Parenting is a slow process of letting go. A baby comes to you so helpless and needing so much from you. In those early days, you may lack sleep but you have so much control over their lives. As your children get older, you lose that control in stages. School is an outside influence, friends become more important, and children make choices that make you cringe. They are our children, but want their own life. I need to stand aside and be there when they come to me. (I find it so hard to wait).