Milestone Moments

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Both of my girls had graduation ceremonies this week—or moving-up ceremonies, to be precise. One is leaving elementary school, the other is leaving middle school, and I feel like I'm leaving a significant and distinct era of parenting. I'm not handling it gracefully, which is no surprise. The girls are bounding eagerly into the future, while I wish I could strap them into car seats and put them back in cribs.

I've been told that from the moment our children take their first steps, our job as parents is to equip them with the skills to walk away from us and into the world. I get that. Thank goodness my girls are sleep-trained, potty-trained, and capable of feeding themselves. I've also been told that the days are long but the years fly by. I get that too. Goodness knows I spent most of their younger years complaining about exhaustion and chaos. In other words, intellectually, I accept that time marches on. But emotionally, I'm not there yet, and I'm not sure I ever will be.

I usually try to give these notes a narrative arc, with at least some semblance of storytelling. This week is really just a journal entry, with the hope that your collective wisdom and experience can comfort me. How do you fully embrace these milestone moments? Is nostalgia always a part of moving on? Write to me at andrea@time.com.

Best,

Andrea

P.S. You won't see us in your inbox next week. We're taking a long weekend in honor of Independence Day. See you soon!

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