In the Middle-of-Somewhere

One of the 'challenges' a parent faces is how to instill in their children the confidence to 'fly' ... to leave the nest, when the time comes. Right?

Well, now I realize you can do too good a job of it! Take our family...of four children, one is now living in North Carolina with our two grandsons, another is living in southern California with our two youngest grandchildren, and one is newly married and living in Alabama.

Our youngest is still in college ... we're betting she'll move to Alaska (thus we will have effectively sent our children to all the far corners of the USA ... not counting Maine...but we've run out of children ... do you suppose the grandchildren will cover that region?)

So, I often wonder, "Are they self-confident and adventurous or do they just want to be far from home?" I've spent a great deal of time pondering this! I see the children of my peers settling in right next door (okay...that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my meaning!) to their parents. They gather weekly to worship, to share some of the challenges of parenting the new generation, to celebrate life's milestones. It all leaves me wondering, "Was it really a good idea to encourage their desire for adventure?" "Why did we want them to be so darned independent?" "What were we thinking?" "What am I now . . . am I no longer needed as the parent of my children?"

Then, one day, the calls start coming. Those independent, adventurers actually want advice! I'm not saying they always follow the advice they seek...but it was a big day in our household when the calls began. "Mom, What do you think about ..." "Dad, how can I ..." etc etc etc

Of course, I know these same children already know the advice we'll be giving and we (DH and I) know in most cases they most likely just want to hear the advice as a confirmation to what they had been planning to do.

All this said, it warms a parent's heart to feel needed again! Welcome home, children!