What if?

Today, for the third time, I watched my oldest (11 years) get on a plane by himself.

While I have never cried watching my son go off on his own, I have dealt with the "what if" scenarios the last few days.

He is going to MT to spend time with my little brother. They have many fun things planned: boating, fishing, camping, hiking, a zip-line and maybe even some gopher hunting. What does this mean? Guns, water, bears and heights. No big deal right?

It is hard as a mother not to freak out or get overwhelmed when letting your child go off on an adventure. Questions such as: Will he get burned, take his medicine, watch out for bears, wear a life-jacket, be okay in the water, be safe and so forth all go through your mind.

But, at some point, you have to let them go, trust that the person you are handing them off to is going to watch over them and let them grow up.

I am so blessed to have a brother that cares about forming a relationship with my son. I never had an uncle or aunt take that much interest in me and I think the more mentors we have in our childrens' lives, the better.

Since my parents live in MT as well, he will get to spend some time with them too :).

This will be our first 4th of July without him and that's okay. I am happy that he will have fond memories of his uncle and I am sure he will have a blast.

I am also grateful that this time, compared to the first time, I had less pictures in my head of the plane going down. Mama mia. Being a parent is hard. ~S