Wednesday, September 02, 2009

SO, WHERE DO ALL THE YEARS GO?


It’s 7:00 AM, and as I sit here typing, I wonder where the years have gone. Almost 22 years ago, TLW (The Little Woman) and I along with my two kids, stepped out of a steak house, and noticed snowflakes falling and swirling from the clouds. It was a late afternoon or early evening, and the sky was very grey and foreboding. I wondered if this would be the time that TLW would have the baby we were expecting, as we climbed into our brand new 1987 Mercury. My fear was a driving snowstorm and my having to drive an expecting woman to the hospital.

Here I am, in just a few hours, I will begin the process of letting go, once again. It’s funny how we ‘let go’ of our children. I’ve done it many ways, many times, and I never really enjoy the process. It is part of life to ‘let go’, and see your children move on. Off to college, or a new home, or even death, is a part of ‘letting go’ and life.

I recall the morning I was ‘let go’ from the security of my home. A home I knew all my life, was about to be a part of my past, the first leg on the journey through life. The morning was a beautiful one, filled with sunshine and hope, as I awoke to the knocking of my best man for my wedding. My family had already left, not even awakening me! People had a lot of confidence in me in those days. They must have realized I would never miss the chance to marry TLW.

#2 Son is asleep, getting the last few miles of his home bed, before we wake him and drive him to his college career. I am happy that we will finally have a quiet life of just the two of us, no other adults in the house, and that he, #2 Son will embark on a life’s journey. Will we miss him? Yes. Do we want him to stay? No! We will help him where we can, and he will have to help himself.

After 37 years, we will make a new life for ourselves. Just the two of us.

2 comments:

Jim Pantaleno said...

I just read a short story where three old folks are allowed to drink from the Fountain of Youth. The potion works perfectly and they become young again, only to commit the same mistakes that previously made them miserable in their old age. Letting go is hard; I'm not very good at it. I live in the present, but make frequent visits to the past. Nice post.

Laura ESL Teacher said...

I always say when Ava grows up and goes to the University of CA at Berkeley, I am renting my old apartment and going with her. The fact that she may not want to go to UCAL, or that my former apartment might not be available, never entered the picture. Oh and I forgot about my husband...I wish Son #2 the best at Purchase and you and TLW an easy adjustment.