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Parenting Young Adults
When rules no longer work.
One of the hardest times for me was after my three kids graduated high school and went on to adulting, now spread across three cities. Miles and miles from home.
Maybe it’s because I was divorced and didn’t have my kids full time, but empty-nester life didn’t appeal to me. I had enough so-called free time. I didn’t need more.
Plus, there was little in life that brought me more joy than taking them to school or picking them up. The stops at coffee shops on the way to school. The car ride conversations.
And then after school, doing homework or projects with them. Cooking them some international cuisine. Movie nights. On weekends, going to farmer’s markets. Festivals.
Every time I saw their faces, I was filled with joy.
But it wasn’t just how they made me feel. I also took teaching them seriously.
I was intentional about the information I imparted. And about how I needed to conduct myself to encourage them to emulate behavior I wanted them to practice. Kindness. Love. Generosity. Empathy.
I was far from perfect, but they forced me to be a better person.
When they left home for the next phase of life, I wasn’t sure what to do with…
