My oldest daughter was literally attached to me for years. She was great… quiet as a mouse… perfectly happy… as long as I was around. When I left, she screamed. Nobody wanted to keep her because she would cry until I returned. There were years of preschool teachers having to peel her off of me in the mornings. I knew she would stop crying shortly after I left, but she kept mostly to herself or with a couple of other students who also wished they were still at home or she would hang out with the teacher. By the time she started first grade, she was OK for the day, but was always ready to come home and stuck by my side. If I went somewhere, she went with me. She liked having friends come over, but she wasn’t crazy about going somewhere else. By middle school, she would go spend the night with friends occasionally, but stayed in touch through the evening. Even through high school as she became very social, she would call or text me often. When she got a job working at a restaurant she would want me to come eat. Throughout the years, I would have to let her cry occasionally or be upset for a little while to stretch her limits, to make her more independent from me. She was extremely hard headed and didn’t do anything she didn’t really want to do. She could not be bribed. I always knew that as frustrating as that trait was while she was growing up, it would be to her advantage later on.
Now here we are, she is grown and then she moved out. What? This child who needed me constantly, is moving out of my house? I don’t know how to handle this. I want to cry, I want to scream! It suddenly occurred to me, I had spent her entire life preparing her for this moment, but I never prepared my self for it. She still calls or texts me regularly and still wants me to come eat when she is working, but it is difficult around the house just knowing she is not coming home. I’m adjusting, and it is satisfying to see her doing so well. This is our goal as parents, to raise our children to be responsible, happy adults. I guess I should be happy with my success. I just miss her!
