Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Last weekend was my son's graduation open house - the final step in him moving from high school to a new phase of life. The last 9 months have been filled with "lasts" - the last tennis match, the last high school class, the last basketball game, the last sports banquet (for him), the last time we will see all his buddies together in one place, the last time our house will be filled with teenage boys eating our food and playing basketball in our family room: the emotions are sometimes hard to take. This is the bitter part of the last few weeks.

The sweet part is watching him grow - from a little boy with mud on his clothes, to a young man who has a caring heart and a ton of potential. The excitement about what can be and what will be is sweetness to the soul.

As a dad, this is a huge milestone - releasing your son into a tough world, knowing that he is going to make mistakes, knowing that there are things that he needs to learn, knowing that life is going to hit him sometimes and knowing that you cannot be "the parent" anymore: you have to be the coach.

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