In my mind, by the time my son got to his SENIOR year in high school, I would feel like a professional parent, right? By now, we have survived the newborn phase, toddlerhood, middle-aged weirdness, AND even pre-teen and teen drama. Although we have experienced a lot together over the years, this year has a lot of new – final athletic seasons, graduation, and college applications to name a few.
As this year begins, in my gut I am excited. Excited to see my son grow and bloom into the young adult he is turning into. Excited to see him conquer his hard classes and a fun athletic season. Excited for the rest of our family to gather around and celebrate all of his awesome accomplishments in and out of the classroom.
As we navigate the next nine months, I am doing my best to remind my son that he is loved JUST the way he is and that there is nothing he could ever do that would make us stop loving him. As a society, there is SO MUCH pressure on kids their senior year … they need to know what they are doing after high school, pick a college if that is the plan, and even a major / career choice. My son doesn’t need any MORE pressure on him to do the best … I will just support him and cheer him on the best I can as he navigates his senior year.
I know it is the most cliché thing to say but wow, the time has gone by SO FAST. What is it with time once we have children? I feel like it has been on super speed for the past 17 years.
It is so easy for me to get caught up in the emotions of it all and my little guy growing up WAY too fast but for me, I like to look forward to what season we are in now. How awesome is it that I get to see my son have his first job and drive? At this stage of gaining more independence, I am forever in awe of how he handles himself. He is kind to people he interacts with and even takes his 11-year-old sister on adventures occasionally.
So for now, I am holding on to all the happy feelings and ready to go on this ride of a lifetime with my son.
