Sometimes, life seems to crawl along at a snail’s pace and other times it seems to rush by before we can even take a moment to breathe. One moment we are young and single and the next we are swept up in the whirlwind of adulthood.  Our priorities change… and so do our bodies, and for those of us that choose motherhood, we take on the responsibility of caring for a human being of our own creation. And then one morning, we wake up, and those tiny, dependant creatures have grown and hopefully flourished under our care. In many cases, the heads that used to rest against our hearts, now tower over us and the children we have raised are ready to do exactly what we have prepared them to do – live their own lives.

If anyone had ever told me that I would have difficulty letting go, I would have laughed (and laughed and laughed some more). I was convinced that I would be one of those Moms who would help their kids pack their bags and have a bottle of bubbly chilling in the fridge waiting as I waved them goodbye at the door. I had never really seen any angst from my parents when I left home as a young adult (that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there), and I had truly thought that the transition to independence would be an easy one.

This stage in my parenting journey truly is one of the most challenging I have faced and I know I am not alone. Many mothers I know express the same sentiment. This is a time, not only of giving our kids room to fly, but also of reevaluating our own lives. What do we do now that we no longer have to run around after our offspring? What will we eat now that we no longer have to cater to our children’s tastes. Will we still shout out to the echo of a child no longer in the house? Will we be alone now (if we are parenting solo)? What will we talk to our significant other about (if we are part of a couple)? What do I want to do with the rest of my life?

In the words of Elizabeth Stone, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” Never before have these words been more true to me than now when I have to trust my children in the world and entrust the world with my children.

I don’t think parenting ever gets easier, it just gets different, and that’s okay. We’re all just trying to figure this out as we go along, and I’m sure it will be alright in the end.

Everything will be okay in the end – so if it’s not okay, it’s not the end— John Lennon