From their first spoken words to landing roles in school plays or making exceptional plays on the soccer field, we cheer them on to victory.
It's just what good parents do.
Sometimes, however, we do so with as much trepidation and fear as we do parental pride.
Putting my first child on a school bus and watching it drive away comes immediately to mind. If I didn't know for sure then, I can certainly look back now and know it wasn't all unwarranted, either. From then on, things were never the same. If a schoolteacher said anything contrary to what she'd learned at home, for example, Misti automatically deemed her scholastic leaders as the higher authority.
The pedestal she'd once placed me on seemed to topple with the greatest of ease. I learned soon enough that the lessons from mom she once accepted without question had to be backed up with solid evidence. Opinions without substance carried no longer seemed to carry weight.
Sometimes, however, it's for the best.
Necessity forced me to ask myself why, how, who and where about what I believe -- before my daughter could beat me to it. And my daughter learned, in time, that while moms don't know everything, not everything taught in the classroom is the gospel truth. Throughout her childhood years, she developed the skills to separate the wheat from the chaff.
These days, my current 16-year-old is the one traveling on the final stretch of her personal road to independence.
You guessed it.
She just learned to drive.
While such a step is just as important and necessary as it was to let go of my first kindergartner, it is also just as frightening.
Sure, it frees me up from driving her to cheerleading practice. It means I don't need to drive her to and from her summer job as a lifeguard. Let's face it: the addition of a new driver in the family is always a welcome convenience.
With it, however, comes responsibility. And this time, we're not talking about politics, history, religion or theory.
We're talking about remembering that traffic lights turn red for a reason. That the brake and the gas pedal are, well, in their respective places. That being cool behind the wheel isn't nearly as important as following the rules.
In other words, we're talking about life-and-death decisions that must be made instantly.
Every parent's nightmare is that our fearless teens will momentarily forget everything we've instilled in them, or worse yet, that unforeseen circumstances will arise -- leading to the unthinkable.
Unfortunately, the unthinkable does happen. One of three recent local teenage deaths caused by automobile accidents happened the same day my teenager became the proud owner of her drivers license. Our hearts go out to all of the family members and friends of those involved.
The irony was not lost on either of us as I sent her out the door for her maiden trip without parental supervision with a more lengthy sendoff than I had initally planned. Lecturing aside, trusting her judgement and praying for her safe return were the only things left I could do.
After all, we can no more throw away our teenagers' car keys than we can stop our little ones from eventually entering the outside world by locking them safely away.
To every parent whose ever felt the urge to protect their child by doing just that, believe me, I've been tempted to do the same. Letting go isn't always easy.
It is, however, (God willing) the only way they can ever grow up strong and independent enough to achieve their dreams.
May we all have the courage and wisdom to know when to hold on tight and when to let go.
In the meantime, if you'd keep an eye out for my teenager, she'll be the one driving a white 1994 Nissan ...
