Faith To Let Go

My previous posts have been a product of knowledge I have gained from experience.  However, this post is about parenting ... if there is anything I have learned for sure about parenting, it is that the moment I start to think I may have gotten things figured out, my kids grow and move on to yet another new stage ... and they graciously bring me along for the ride!  Most recently I have been trying to get a grasp on the idea of letting go (especially of my 15 year old son) to allow them to experience new things.  I am struggling to ascertain a balance between being too lenient versus being too controlling, being protective enough versus being overprotective, and being concerned versus going into an all out panic attack with anxiety!  (Advice anyone?)

Earlier this week, it had been snowing during the day ... not bad weather exactly, just January weather ... and yet my son wanted to go with friends to the basketball playoff game out of town that night ... uffdah!  I REALLY did not want him to go ... there were a million things I could imagine happening ... but I also knew that it is important for a teenage boy to have fun with friends, show some school spirit, and learn to navigate through life on his own!  Although my instincts told me to lock him in his room til he is 30, I decided to take the high road and call my husband for assistance in the decision making.  (He can be a bit more level headed than I!)  My husband decided he could go and I reluctantly agreed.  Luckily my son appeased his panic-stricken  mother by agreeing to text me when he met up with his friends to take off to the game, call me as they went up a well-known, dangerous, steep hill on the way, and text me again when he got to the destination. (okay, so I am still leaning toward overprotective!) I spent the rest of the evening trying to shrug off my feelings of anxiety even though I knew he was safe until I received another text that he was on his way home...I don't know how I am going to survive these teenage years!           

I guess what I do know is that all a person can do at this stage is to have faith ... faith in our children, faith in our own decisions and especially a faith in God to watch out for our kids!  For now, I will just have to take a deep breath, say a prayer, and grip the steering wheel of life as we head down this new path on our journey ... and of course hug my children each time they return!