I remember quietly crying in the back seat of my parent’s car on the way back to college for my second semester.

At the time, I attributed my tears to the dreary skies and frigid cold of Boston and to leaving my brother and friends at home once again.

But looking back, I was emotional for a lot of reasons.

I was nervous about my new classes.
I hadn’t made too many new friends yet.
I wasn’t quite sure if I’d ever be okay with being away from my mom for such long periods of time.

I was overwhelmed. Sad. Scared. Anxious. Afraid. Apprehensive.

It was as if the whole going away for college thing didn’t hit me until I went away the second time around.

But, I didn’t know then what God had waiting for me on the other side of that drive back to Boston.

I didn’t know that the next 3.5 years would be some of the best of my life.

I didn’t know I’d find my passion and the tools I’d need to pursue it.

I didn’t know I’d make a friend that would change my soul forever.

I didn’t know I’d embark on adventures and have experiences with others that would change my world forever.

So whether you’re sending your child off to college this year—or to kindergarten, fourth grade, or high school—let them have all the feels.

It’s hard to see our children be anything other than joyful and happy, but it’s perfectly normal and more than okay to have mixed emotions—including those that make us cry.

Hold space for their feelings.
Acknowledge them.
Validate them.

And find someone who will do the same for yours as you send them on their way.

Change is hard for so many of us, but more often than not, what God has waiting on the other side of that “drop off” is far greater than anything we’d get from staying in the same place.

❤️