If you're like me, you've recently experienced one of the most difficult and rewarding experiences of your life -- sending a child away to college. All those years of saying "I can't wait until he is old enough to . . . " have flown by in a blink of an eye and you're trying to take it all back. But it's too late -- they're grown up and gone, and you're left wondering if those 18 years of parenting worked. Are they ready for the "real" world?
Fortunately, my heart is warm knowing that my son is in the right place on many different levels; socially, geographically, academically and mentally. He's blossomed into a content, conscientious young man. And I couldn't be prouder.
While I have no fool-proof parenting lesson plan to suggest, I do believe his strength has come from a caring, but not indulgent, upbringing. While many of his friends were out buying the latest sports jersey or player-of-the-moment athletic shoe, he was learning patience and frugality by waiting for the same shirt/shoe/product to go on sale before paying for half with his own money. While his buddies spent the weekends in front of the XBox, he was finishing his chores first. Even though we live in the land of lawn services and cleaning ladies, my husband and I wanted to teach all our kids that those amenities are the benefits of hard work -- and not an entitlement. Yes, in other words, we were the "meanest parents that ever lived," and I'm proud of it.
This job of parenting doesn't end after 18 years, so there's still lots more for me to learn. Plus, I still have two more kids to get thru college, so my story is long from being told. Thankfully the dividends of our hard work are paid in tiny portions every day.
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