Whether we have children 3, 15 or even 30 it’s hard to be a parent and let go. It all starts so young! At 3 years old, children want to do everything themselves. Everything is “me do it!”
This is only the beginning. As parents we will spend a lifetime raising our children to be responsible, independent adults and yet the letting go process never really gets much easier. We will spend a lifetime of “Letting Go” at different ages and stages along the way.
If it’s such a good thing why does it make me so sad?
I remember when one of my sons was 15 years old and a sophmore in high school. He was such a great kid, but often forgot things…like school assignments! So I bought him this nifty day planner. He looked at it and said “thanks mom.” I was so happy. He seemed to really grasp the idea of keeping track of his assignments, being organized and responsible!
A couple of days later I found the planner just sitting on the coffee table. Wow, it looked like it hadn’t even been used. What do you know, it hadn’t. He must have set it down and forgotten about it. Yes, that’s it! I gave it to him later that evening with the comment, “Oh, I found this on the coffee table, you must have misplaced it.” “No mom, I didn’t misplace it.” he simply said with a cute little smile.
He had no interest in doing things my way. The right and responsible way! I know you are all in agreement with me, right! He had another plan for keeping assignments organized…it was called his head. Now we all know this is a prescription for disaster, but at some point we have to let our kids fail.
What he was really saying was, “Me do it!”
I don’t know about you but I hate to see my kids fail. It just breaks my heart! Yet I know that it is part of their growth. What will make them strong is having their own convictions learned many times by their own experiences.
Even as a Mom of a few 30 something year olds, I want to teach and protect them from things. As I watch my own daughter raise her sons I want to say, “maybe if you will just do it this way” and yet I keep my mouth shut because..
I know she will say to me, “Me do it!”
It’s all part of raising our wonderful children this, letting go thing. It’s bitter sweet. Don’t you just love parenting?! Our children belong to the Lord from the very beginning.
Do you say “Me do it!” to your heavenly Father? I do! You know what? He always lets me.
