grounded and launching him

August 7, 2018

Today I am officially the mom of a high schooler. My mind is having a bit of a hard time wrapping around this idea. I’m not sure how he got this old so fast. He was a runner when he was a toddler – constantly looking for a chance to bolt and run away from me as fast as his little legs would take him. It feels like I was just scooping him up in my arms and reminding him he had to stay close. He had to stay with me.

And now he is in high school and everything is different. These days he would rather jump over me than run from me. Instead of scooping him up and reminding him he has to stay by my side, I’m encouraging him to ‘go’ and scooping up my heart each time he does. Parenting is not for the weak of heart. It also isn’t for those who like life to be boring!

We took those photos at youth camp this summer. In many ways it sums up how mothering him is feeling for me. He wants to make big jumps, but still asks my permission. The first jump was the hardest for me, but with each subsequent jump he earned more and more of my trust. Soon enough he is going to go for jumps that might be a little bigger than what he can handle. He might tumble and he might crash hard. He also might clear every obstacle. Either way – I pray I get to be a steady constant in his life, someone on the ground cheering him on and providing the extra boost to launch him the places he wants to go.