He's Yours.

I've been sitting on this for the past 7 days, contemplating how to pull out all of the thoughts that were filling my head and had been trying to claw their way out.  Yet each time I sat down and started to type, the thoughts were silenced, and my fingers hovered merely over my keyboard, not knowing where to go.

Sometimes it's a good thing to sit and ponder on all of those thoughts for awhile.

So I'm sitting here a week later, the thoughts are still here in my head, and I'm much less of an emotional mom-mess. 

Three weeks ago, my 18-year old FINALLY got his driver's license.  I don't care what anyone says, the first day that your child gets behind the wheel and drives off on his own...even when it is just a short distance away to his friend's house, you

Just. 

Stop. 

Breathing.  

And you don't start breathing again until the car has pulled back into the driveway (Heaven forbid, should an emergency vehicle drive by with lights and sirens blaring while your child...your six-foot, 18-year old baby boy, is away with the car...).

It was on that first day when this kid ventured out in the car alone, that I was suddenly taken back to when he was an infant and toddler.  He was learning to crawl and eventually wander around the house, and I had learned early on that I could NOT be Supermom and protect him every single minute of every single day from every single bad thing that might happen to him.  It simply was not possible and I found myself praying.  A LOT. 

"God, I need you to watch over him, 

because I know that there will be times when I can't.  

He's is Your hands."

I found myself, once again, praying the exact same prayer - 16 years later.

A mere 10 days after getting his license, the next chapter in his story has begun.  This child...this little boy who used to love all things Thomas the Tank Engine when he was three, and fell in love with movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones by the time he was eight, this young man is driving himself to college every day and majoring in Digital Filmmaking (which really, is just so stinking cool!).

...and he even let me take a First Day of School picture!

     

~C.