This photo is from memory lane. I chose it because it is of my youngest son … And he is sitting in the cockpit of an F-16. Which is what I feel as though is “flying” me into the next leg of my journey!
Tonight, I celebrated with my son as he got his braces off today. We shared this moment (smile, let me see again) together after he arrived home from a College Night at a local university. As I am seeing him without metal in his mouth (for the first time in almost five years) and listening to him talk about his adventures at the event … It occurred to me that motherhood (at least of the full-time variety) is just about to the point of being downsized!
Upon learning that he enjoyed meeting the representative from a particular college, I remembered that his older brother was once interested in that very same college. So, we called said brother (as he lives halfway across the country) and chatted for a while as he was brought up-to-date on the goings on ’round here.
All of the changes which occur during the years of young manhood are like mile markers alerting the “driving-mother” (and don’t we do A LOT of that!) that her journey is coming to an end.
Sure, there will be “vacation trips” after our children reach adulthood. But for the most part, these will be but brief and treasured times; we train up our children in the way they should go, so they will do just that: Go!
Which makes no sense, of course! We love ‘em, can’t live without them so we raise ‘em and set ‘em free! That makes no sense at all! 
Sort of like me being up past midnight so I can document this moment in my history!
Repost from original Dessert Years …
