taking a day

i dropped everything yesterday and drove 3.5 hours to visit my firstborn, who needed some mama time. (or i needed firstborn time; it can be debated either way.) he's dealing with the hard things that come from being in your last year of college: the big decisions, the exhaustion, the frustration and anxiety, the sadness of watching friends move on and away. i couldn't fix those bigger, more existential things, but i could buy him some new sneakers and groceries and lunch.

he's still my baby, even if he is 6'3" and almost 22.

there's a lot of stuff coming his way, and i hope he is able to take the time to just enjoy this last year. there might be grad school, or there might be a break. there might be a plan, or there might be new outlooks. nothing is sure or squared away, which ... that's a good lesson to learn now. how much of life is EVER squared away? or figured out?

i don't envy this generation coming to age in all the chaos of the world. and yet ... my parents came of age in the chaos of the late 60s. my generation came of age in the chaos of the 80s and 90s. does any generation ever really have a GOOD era to grow in? that's how we learn and develop worldview.

i actually have a lot of faith in these Gen Zs, and if they can make it through the last 18 months (or, last five years, really) and whatever comes next, they might just be a Great Generation in their own right.

there will be a lot for them to fix, i have a feeling.

which totally explains the weight on the shoulders of kids like henry. it's a lot, and i'm sure looking eight months in the future - at flying out of the college nest and into the world - seems daunting.

but for yesterday, we just took time to chat, watch funny videos he'd saved for me, and just BE. and that's necessary now and then, when everything else is shadowed by a question mark.

Comments

[Jean]

Sweet <3 Love the picture of the two of you. Sweet <3 What a loving post.

[Effy]

I am totally with you on the not envying this generation thing. There is so much to navigate! I love that you got some time with your babe. <3

[Cally Brown]

This brought on a little 'aahhh' of recognition, even though I'm 70 and my four 'babies' are aged 31 to 40.