I came across a great quote the other day in a book I’m reading, Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When You’re Drowning in Your Daily Life by Jessica Abel.
“When [your kids] are older, one gift you can give them is to be passionately absorbed in something that is not them.”
I so agree!!! So here I sit, writing a blog post while my oldest is taking the PSAT. Otherwise, I’d be wasting time on Facebook or Candy Crush feeling stressed out about how it’s going for him.
I’ve only ever homeschooled my kids, so I don’t know how my experience compares to those who send their kids to school, but this whole parenting thing at this stage is just WEIRD. Their education has always been totally up to me (with hubby support) and I’ve always been completely involved in everything they’ve done. Now my first born is a junior in high school (still homeschooled). The SAT and ACT are up to him. He runs his own landscaping business with now no input from me. He’s looking at colleges, getting his drivers’ license… WHOA! SLOW DOWN!
I feel like one of the biggest challenges for me at this stage is to emotionally hand over the reins to him. The ownership, the burden of his future, the responsibility to make it all work… It’s his future, not mine. Besides, God has plans for him. He belongs to the Lord, not to me! I have to trust God with him.
I still have 2 more kids at home, but the more independent they get, the more time I have during the day to develop my own interests and passions. I won’t always be homeschooling (even if it feels like that some days!) and I don’t want to have nothing left but to twiddle my thumbs once they’re gone.
So I write and play guitar and invest in ministry through church and day to day life. Next month I’ll tackle NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month for the uninitiated). And my kids and myself will be the better for it!
Amy Lynn Simon 