An open letter to moms of seniors

this is hard, this sucks, time went WAY to fast….

it will get easier! I promise

you are right, it will never be the same.

but it will be just as good.

We moved this year,  and in the process I got rid of more than I care to admit we had!. I spent the better part of last year sorting , giving, and throwing away all the stuff….and I mean ALL THE STUFF.

and as I did I let all the feelings that came with every little shoe, pink dress, piece of art, book, paper and toy come to the surface. I didn’t try to hold it in, I let myself cry over each memory, and every lost opportunity and every missed snuggle and bedtime story and then…

I LET IT GO

I thanked Jesus for all he has given me, asked HIM to forgive me for ALL my failures, cried a bucket of tears and then….

I LET GO

because If I fill up my FUTURE with all the stuff from my PAST there is not room for my NOW.

Letting go has been the theme of this season of my life.

 I watched #1 and #2 walk down the aisle and give their hearts, their lives, their time to another last summer.

precious #3 moved out last week, ready for all life has for her as she stands at the doorstep of adulthood.

I have had to watch as fiercely independent #4 struggles with accepting that she can not do everything that others can, and how that affects her future and her heart.

And as #5 tests boundaries and struggles to love who God has created her to be….I pray…. because my words have little power in her 8th grade heart.

It is so easy to get stuck.

stuck in hurt or anger or regret

TODAY is hard enough without weighing ourselves down with our yesterdays.

so would you let me encourage you today

whether you are letting go of that newborn and chasing the toddler or putting your kindergartener on a bus for the first time or watching your newly graduated senior drive off to college,  spend some time letting go of what WAS

so that you are free to enjoy what IS.