We did it! Or, should I say, he did it. I’m talking about high school graduation, but as you probably know (and I’m trying to learn), the day was all about my son, despite my efforts to make it about me. Watching him walk across the stage, my emotions embarked on a roller-coaster ride ranging from extreme pride and gratitude to choked-back tears of grief over what I’m “losing.” But could it be that my loss is really a gain?

SoulFeed blog. This led to her writing a book: Release My Grip: Hope for a Parent’s Heart as Kids Leave the Nest and Learn to Fly. I highly recommend this book, especially for those like me who have a child graduating and heading off to college.

There’s so much I love about Gilmour’s writings, but if I had to narrow it down to one quote that’s helped me the most, it would be this: “Be fully present to support them and look forward to the future through the lens of their life, not backward through the lens of my life.” While I grieve letting go, my son is excited to leave the nest and experience the freedom of young adulthood. While I long for the days when he needed me, he is eager to live in a much more independent way. While I sit here wishing he had chosen a college close to home, he is beyond thrilled to live in a completely different part of the country.