I work in higher education and I am witness all the time to "helicopter parents." You know what I am talking about. Those parents who call faculty the minute their child runs into problems with a class. Or who do all the talking at class registration while their child stands awkwardly behind them. It's sad, really....and I vowed NEVER to be one of those parents.
Well, I won't say it was easy. In fact, it was really, really hard! But I think I managed to allow, encourage and sometimes force Erin to make her own decisions. Because as I said, she's very capable (sometimes I think she's more capable than I) of making good decisions. It's our job as parents to give our kids the skills to make their own decisions - and that's not an easy task. We want to help them and make their choices for them but that hurts them in the long run!
The Bible teaches us in Proverbs 22:6...
Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
That is from the NIV but I read it from the The Message tonight too and it made me smile...
Point your kids in the right direction -
when they're old, they won't be lost.
There were a few tears when we eventually said good-bye. But I don't think it was due to any thoughts of homesickness or that being apart was going to be unbearable (she's only an hour away!). I think it was because we both knew that a chapter in her life was ending and another was beginning. And, this can be thrilling and scary! I know she'll be just fine...
On a lighter note, moving in was a breeze thanks to a great orientation team at Morningside who grabbed boxes and bags out of our vehicles and carried them to Erin's room. Once there, the unpacking was a little overwhelming...
But before long, she got mostly everything where she wanted it..
Her door...
Her future.....looks very bright!
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