First Days

A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

It's the first day of school in this neck of the woods and my eldest joined the middle school ranks.  I have never cried at the first day of school.  Daycare, yes, school, no.  This morning, after she boarded the bus and was on her way, I turned toward the house and was overcome with emotion.  My baby girl is growing up.  

We haven't always done right by her and have been working to change that.  We've protected her a bit too much and sometimes that means she doesn't want to do something or believe that she can do something.  We've tried to fix life for her rather than have her figure it out at times.  And to know where she's come from with her anxiety to seeing how bravely she faced her fears today, it simply make me verklempt.  She shared that she was scared for today last evening, but handled herself with grace and courage.  I am so proud of her.  She is so damn amazing.  The line at the top of the post is one I came across today as someone else shared their emotions of of the first day of school.  I read it and was teary-eyed in seconds.  These kids are our ships and yes, sometimes they need the safety of the harbor.  What they need is the freedom to sail while knowing they have a solid foundation (boat) and that safe harbor to come home to.  

This parenting stuff is hard some days.  Some days are fantastic.  Today was a bit of both.