See you next time....

 Man these last times are hitting hard.

I totally get wanting to be done with stuff.  Anything my kids do that they don't like, they finish with "Well, I never have to do that again."  (And in all honesty, there's been a lot, represented in some form or other in this blog.)

Lately, the memories popping up on my timeline are hard for me to look at. G's final race for education waaaay back in elementary is as present to me in this moment as it was while it was happening.  His standing there waving goodbye as I headed back to my car, then him melting back in with the wave of kids just struck me that this was the first in a long list of goodbyes.

Except, it wasn't.  The lasts stretched long before that moment.  But that moment was the demarcation point.

I feel like every other parent comes to this point in life with sweet relief. With me, it's an appreciation of how I didn't know how good I had it, even in the midst of warring with folks to get and keep my guys included. And I know in some ways the battles ahead are going to be a lot harder.

At younger's last high school performance the other night, I found myself getting all choked up because the instructor had a thank you slide to the audience that began "See you next time...."

This is it for us. In more ways than one. 

I dropped my older guy off for his first day of job shadowing. He looks sharp in his sweater, slacks and sensible shoes. He expressed his nervousness--what if this isn't his thing?

I told him he won't know if he doesn't try, and that he knows the job in some ways better than anyone else. He is in a position to do real good, and effect real change. One person at a time. 

I watched him walk away. He's not the student anymore. 

He's the adult. 

So I say a quiet prayer.

And hope for the best.