30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day Three

"Little Man" - mixed media on aquabord, 6" x 6"

In 36 hours, my son will take off to see the world.  He will be gone for 9 months, see 10 countries and learn 100 skills.  Scuba diving in Costa Rica, racing cars in Germany, philanthropy in India.  It all begins with hiking the wilderness of Wyoming.

Great, great, great, right?  I am so happy for him!  And I am so worried.  I feel so excited for the new experiences awaiting him!  And I am overwhelmed by the sadness of his leaving.  Ok, so I am in the limbo of emotional uncertainty.

It seems just a minute ago he was four years old and I was tucking him in at night.  We had a ritual and a mantra at bedtime, something we both cherished.

Wasn't it last week he was eleven or so?  Navigating the hallways of middle school, surviving the bus ride despite the bullies, discovering how much he enjoyed being on stage...collecting Pokemon cards.  (I still have them!  He tried to donate them, but I rescued them from the pile. Not Pokemon!  We need those cards!)

Just three months ago he was graduating from high school, and we had a whole summer of togetherness stretching out in front of us.  Well, that's how I saw it.  I am pretty sure he was not as enthusiastic about uninterrupted mom-time.  And here it is now, the penultimate day.  Our summer is over; his journey is beginning.

I have a trailer full of uncertainty about the coming nine months.  I plan to drag it with me every day until he is safely home again.  But I am certain about this boy (really, now a man).  He will flourish in the wide world.  He will thrive.  He will learn and grow and eventually move into his very own amazing life. 

 And I will be here if he needs me, just in case.

(I think I'll keep this one...)

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