25 Days

Aly at the age of 4...soooooo cute!

Aly (my middle daughter) told me last night that she has 25 more days of high school left. Two of those days Aly will not be there (in school), because she has been invited to a Drama Competition with three fellow drama students. This part (the drama competition) I find ironic since having three girls, our lives are a continuous drama competition. If there was a drama competition here at my house it could potentially get cut throat. To be fair though I would be in there with the best of them, I mean really, where do you think my girls learned this stuff? Anyway, 25 days from now my middle daughter will be done with high school and her new chapter begins.

 Things are different for my girls then when I graduated high school, and to be honest I had planned it that way. When I graduated from high school I was not encouraged to have a plan or try to find a college. I was not given help in finding something that I would like to do or even help making a plan. I have floundered around almost my whole life wishing I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up and here I am all grown up and while I am not floundering anymore, I am still waiting for that light bulb to come on so that I can say "OH, that's what I am going to do!" I did not want my girls to start out without a little bit more encouragement and support.

 It is hard to say on any given day as a parent if you have done the right thing by your kids or not and when they announce that there is 25 days left until their perceived launch into life a parent starts to panic. Are they ready? Are they prepared to avoid the pit falls and hurts of the world? Will my children be prepared to face the challenges of life? Will everyone like my children? Will people always be kind to my children?
The answer to all these questions is NO!

 None of us is ever ready to step out into the world. I still say that I could have had a much better footing when I was launched all those years ago, but now I believe that no matter how hard we try as parents, there is always the School of Hard Knocks that really gives our kids the best education. Honestly, I have learned more from my mistakes than any other form of education out there.

 This is not to say that I won't keep trying to give advice to my kids...that's just crazy talk! Every parent likes the sound of "Mom/Dad, you were right!" However, I do not kid myself into thinking that they actually listen fully. They (my kids), like me at their age, are sure that they know more and can do better than I did and I sincerely hope that they do.

 In 25 days my middle daughter will feel her wings sprouting and she will start her practice flights. The practice flights will not end for a few more years and then before I know it she will be telling me that there are only 25 more days of college. Before either of us even realizes what has happened she will be flying high all on her own. She will have a few bumps and bruises from the School of Hard Knocks, but Aly will be the better for it.
Perhaps this Mom gig thing is what I was meant to do after all.