I am feeling, with great intensity, the truth of the above statement from Ecclesiastes. My youngest child graduated from high school, a great accomplisment and I celebrate his bright future.  Curiously, I am not sad.  Instead, I am ebullient, energized, almost giddy that the most important stage of parenting has concluded. While I am thrilled that my boys have their lives ahead of them, I am thrilled for mine too. My husband asked if I felt sad, and when I took a moment, I realized that the clearest emotion was one of relief. We did good. The young men in my house, while the source of crazy in crazytown, turned out to be fine, intelligent, faithful, funny, good, handsome and unique young men. Whew!

I know, of course, there will be future challenges…obviously being a parent never ends. But I do know my grocery bill will diminish, and the biggest challenge of my day won’t be what to cook for dinner, or what sporting or music event I have to travel too. My mind is already swirling with great ideas to fill in the gaps.  I can finish my play, take a class, hang with my husband, friends and family, or do absolutely nothing. I am perfectly happy to continue to be that steadfast support my son’s will need as they face new challenges in life. Only now, I will be rested and confident that we successfully raised men who can be independent and strong, who have the necessary skills to figure things out, and when they can’t have the wherewithall to ask for help, all of which I’m happy to give.

For now, I am ready for the next step!