Letting them go.

The hardest part of being a parent is letting your kids grow up and go out on their own. Andy is 15. He has his drivers permit, he's gone to a couple of dances, he's hunting on his own, and now, he has a job.

I'm struggling. I want him to be safe, I want him to be a responsible person, but letting him strike out on his own, without me there to back him up is really difficult. Letting him drive to school isn't hard, but letting him drive in to town to work has proven to be more difficult. On school nights, he can only work until 7. But, when 7:30 rolls around and he's still not home, I worry.

Then there are those school dances. He went with a girl to the last dance a couple of weeks ago. The dance was over at 11. And I waited up...He was home by 11:15, but waiting for him to get safely home was hard. What am I going to do when he stays out past midnight?

Yes, he has a phone, but I don't want to be one of those parents who is always calling, checking in with their kids. I realize that sometimes, you don't get off work right away, that you don't get out the door right away, that you have to get gas, let the pickup warm up, etc. I realize that sometimes you need to drive slower home because it's foggy or snowy. But I can't help worrying! So many kids get killed in accidents. So many temptations are out there for kids to stumble into. There are deer that jump in front of vehicles. How does he know which decisions are the right ones? How does he know what to do when there are deer in the road, or if you skid on the ice. I can't protect him anymore and that's the hard to admit.

How do we parents DO this? I thought it was hard when they were babies, and we were up all night. I thought it was hard sending them to school, but letting them go, letting them be independent...that's the hardest part of parenting. And, I'm struggling.