Preparation For Flight

 

Moments That Matter

In the life of the hive, moments accumulate: the queen’s first flight, the worker’s last foraging trip, the splitting of a swarm. None happen in isolation. Each shapes the hive’s future.

Parenthood is marked by such moments, too. The first day of school. The first heartbreak. The first time they tell you, “I’ve got this.” They are milestones not just of growing up, but of letting go.

These are not signs you are losing your child. They are signs you have done your job well.

We have been seeing these little glimmers of growth and decision making from our oldest child. As he has made healthy choices to cease stressful endeavors, join different friend groups, and define his prirorities around work vs. summer fun.

While our youngest tries to follow in his older brothers footsteps, he is still younger and needing more of his parental unit guidance.

As a parent the way we parent has begun to shift, to offer guidance, less about telling them how to do things or what to do, more about asking questions like, "What do you think?" or "How do you think that decision will be recieved?" or "Have you considered....?"

What no one tells you is that your own emotional feelings as a parent will be challenges, will need to take pause and reflect and that it will be hard but wonderful all at the same time.

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Letting Go is Love in Action

Honey bees survive because they trust the process. They trust that life is meant to move forward, not hold still. They do not cling. They do not hover. They live fully in their roles, then make way for what comes next.

For parents, this may be the hardest lesson. To love a child is to hold them close and to let them go, again and again, in bigger and bigger ways. It is to believe in their ability to fly, even when you ache to keep them safe in the hive.

As we prepare for a final high school year beginning in a month, we are taking stock in each moment with our oldest. We are helping him to prepare for life with guidance, and are slowly letting him go and watching him fly into his own. As difficult as it is we will smile through the tears knowing that we are doing our job.