I am feeling so many feelings about my middle child’s first week of high school — she doesn’t know many kids at her school, they have confiscated a knife from a kid, the power went out and it was 2 hours delayed, and this morning there was a gas leak. Feels like a very eventful first week of high school, while I am sure she will remember none of it except the friends she ended up making.

I was really deeply stressing about how I could HELP and I read something that was very smart (from Cup of Jo, the greatest blog still around!) that said kids don’t want you to (hypothetically) run the marathon with them; just give them water and hold up your sign and cheer for them. And that really checked me — I don’t need to run and solve how she is sitting alone at lunch, or thinking about her math/French teachers, or whatever. I just need to confidently believe she’ll get through it (I do believe this) and let her handle it.

Parenting! Another board member today said his child was coming home for the weekend, and he was so excited, but also sad — because it is the last visit before the child/spouse moves to Vancouver!! So … you know, it’s hard to picture how far away the children’s lives may be .. and how happy you are that they are so independent and wonderful … and how poignant it is. We used to eat dinner together! Every day!

My sister is having a very, very hard time right now, and watching how that affects my dad (and my sister) I’m just really glad our kids, as of now, seem to be okay. It’s hard to predict the future, or know how to talk to/with teens, or know how to support adult children — but that’s kind of true about all of life. It’s hard to know, but important to do.

While we have life to lead — we fly to Clyde’s funeral this evening, the funeral is tomorrow morning.