Launching with Love: Graduation, Letting Go, and Holding On

Funny how each season of life brings its amazing, beautiful moments right alongside the exhausting, seemingly never-ending ones. Why is that? You find yourself simultaneously excited and present, yet also longing for some phases to pass, feeling nostalgic for the past, and eagerly anticipating the future – all swirling together. Perhaps nothing embodies this "now, past, and future" blend quite like being a parent. 

Graduation season is often one of those periods of reflection for me. It’s a major milestone in a young adult’s life!  

You see, I truly understand that mix of overwhelming pride and excitement for your kids, coupled with a deep yearning for those earlier, simpler days when they were small. I also know the feeling of your children leaving home, and it genuinely feels like a piece of your heart goes with them. They stand at this fascinating intersection of maturity and lingering immaturity—capable in many ways, yet still possessing those endearingly questionable housekeeping habits. You recognize their intelligence, yet you still find yourself pondering the logic behind some of their choices. And oh, the art of biting your tongue! They are adults now, albeit young ones, and ultimately, their actions are their own.

And through it all, your love for them remains constant. And so do your prayers.

Every single day.

But if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t tell them all these things, not in words anyway. Maybe it feels a bit awkward, or perhaps the perfect words arrive precisely twelve and a half minutes after the phone call ends. Or maybe the whirlwind of life keeps you from fully recognizing the depth of what’s happening within you. So, a quiet question lingers: Do they truly know the unwavering love that surrounds them through every twist and turn of their lives? Do they know about those daily prayers offered on their behalf? This very questioning can create a subtle tension we carry, often without even realizing it. 

Through much introspection, I’ve come to realize that this underlying tension significantly informs my writing, particularly my children’s books, both those already published and those still taking shape. They are my attempt to articulate the often unspoken sentiments we so deeply want our children to know.

Take my latest book, An I Love You Book for People About to Take on the World. Its purpose is to provide parents with a way to express their profound love for their young adult children as they embark on the next chapter after high school. These young adults might not be around as often as we’d like, yet our desire for them to recognize the myriad ways we show our love remains strong.

I also have another book brewing, titled How Mamas Show Love. Can you guess its focus? While intended for a younger audience, the underlying goal is the same: to help children understand that their mommy’s selfless acts of service are, in their purest form, love. More on that will be coming later this summer!

And so, as the calendar pages turn and another class of bright young souls steps out into their own unfolding stories, may we, as parents, find peace in knowing that the love we’ve poured forth has taken root. May our prayers serve as an invisible embrace, a constant current beneath the surface of their new adventures. And perhaps, just perhaps, a little book tucked into their luggage or left on their desk can whisper the words our hearts so often hold close, a tangible reminder of the unwavering love that journeys with them, always.