Visit does my soul good

Parenting is dynamic- there’s this odd pull where you want to raise young citizens that ultimately fly off to create their own brand of ‘happy’. But! it is very weird on the parents soul to push them out of the nest and watch from afar. I am all for going to college in a new state and an advocate for my children to try on a new kind of normal - their own self created “normal.” Both of my daughters have left their home state and now we are enjoying learning more about the new cities they’ve chosen, St. Louis and Eau Claire. Both places very different and yet, eerily similar to home.

Its so much fun to watch Sydney settle into a student senate role as a freshman (unheard of for a few reasons), sorority life and finding her space. Watching Lexi play club hockey for her university just warms my soul - she is making friends with her teammates. When I step foot on each of their campuses, it felt like it really was just yesterday when I dropped them off in August. And now the goodbye at the end of the trip was far easier.

When your child leaves home, your world is rocked. My daily routine has shifted. My time is different and yet suspiciously the same. My habits are crushed and I am creating new habits with deep intention of not repeating the old. Relationships are investigated and challenged. Tis a season of personal growth and yet I grasp for normalcy in the midst. But my heart knows it is time to develop a new normal and shift. I guess it comes down to, “who do I want to define myself as now?” I am walking into a huge milestone in a few months, who do I want to be?