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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Once Upon a Time: A Letting Go



Once he was a boy who like to climb in log cabins and jump in haystacks.


Once he was a boy who liked to swing and run up slides at the playground.


Once he was a boy who played with Legos, hour after hour.



Once he was a boy who went barefoot in the sandbox in the spring, reveling in the feel of the cool sand and the end of winter, surrounded by little people who thought he was the greatest. And the bossiest.


Now he's my boy who is about to leave the nest, to head off to college 3 hours away. We had one last camping trip this past weekend, a familiar familial pattern of campfires, hikes, and marshmallows. We've done it dozens of times over the course of the past 17 years, but this one was extra sweet.

"What should I take with me?" he asks.
"Everything," I tell him. "Everything that you need every day."

What isn't packed in his suitcase will be packed in his heart, stored there as quiet memories of sand, swings, mountains. And us.


Linked up at Tuesdays Unwrapped on Chatting at the Sky

10 comments:

  1. Sometimes it's just good to cry tears of sorrow mingled with joy...*sniff, sniff*

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  2. well... thank you for making me cry right before I have to go teach.

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  3. I loved this post. It tugged at my heartstrings.

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  4. Thanks for stopping by. My little boy is just 14 months, but reading this post made me choke up thinking about the day he leave for college!

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  5. I'm going stay in denial about the letting go stuff. That's a tear jerker!

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  6. Thanks. So here I sat, with my 7 year old boy crawling all over me playing with his stuffed animals, crying like a baby! Now I'm praying he lives at home and goes to the college in town.

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  7. Well, I can't say you didn't warn me. *Sniff* Sniff*...

    Jesse reminds me so much of T in some of those photos.

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  8. Well thanks a lot - now I have to go find a tissue. Seriously, this is a great post! My oldest is in 10th grade this year and I feel myself desperately wanting to stop the clock, and already offering a garage apartment for the college years so he can stay at home! =)

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  9. Awwwww! I have to tell you, i was so relieved when my oldest wanted to stay home and go to college. I get choked up just thinking about kids going away to college. Hugs to you and best of luck to your son! Thanks for stopping by my WW!

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  10. Nice blogging!!!!
    with All the Bests...

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