I am feeling a little melancholy today since after a wonderful and fun month long break, College Boy is on his way back to school. I'm so proud of the adult he's become / becoming, and it was fun to watch him over break be more naturally independent and comfortable in his own skin. There was a time when we'd go out to dinner and Mr. C and I did most or all of the interacting and question asking with our servers and "suddenly" the tables have turned. Little day to day differences that you blink and they take place. I'm not even sure he realizes the changes but they are the kind of things that make mama and papa bears smile inside and out.
It's that kind of confidence and independence we want for our children right? After all that's the job we signed up for or at least my interpretation of it. We have always been parents first (vs wanting to be his friend) and I know there were times when we were more strict than other parents, especially in HS. On the other hand, we also accepted that as he grew into adulthood, the pendulum would begin to shift and we wanted him to be equipped with the skills to make his own good decisions because he knew they were good decisions. It's more fun than I thought seeing that take place and it means the world to us that we have the kind of relationship where he wants to spend time with us.
All of this introspection reminded me of this quote which I think sums up our whole parenting journey and my mood today. So I made it into a chalkboard printable.
Can anyone else relate?