Leave Quickly

Leave quickly, young moms are told at preschool drop off. Don’t linger too long or it will be a more difficult goodbye. For you and for your little one. Give your child a quick, reassuring hug and walk away — just walk away from that baby you carried and nursed and comforted and held who has been connected to your hip since birth. Leave quickly.

Leave quickly, your teenager will tell you, as you drop them off at the party. Just go (without even a hug!) so that they will not be seen being dropped off by you, even though none of the other kids have their driver’s licenses yet. Drive off quickly… just watch your phone and await their text.

Leave quickly, after caps and gowns have been thrown into the air so jubilantly by the new graduates. Run over to them for one quick picture before they rush off with their friends for a night of celebration. They did it. You did it. But it’s time to start to let go…

Leave quickly, when the last big blue bag has been unpacked. Don’t linger too long in their dorm room or it will be a more difficult goodbye. You know this. They know this. But still, your hug lasts a few seconds longer and is a little tighter, and they allow this to happen.

It feels like they leave us too quickly. We have been preparing ourselves for this since that first drop off, but it still manages to catch us off guard. If we have done our jobs right, they’re ready. But, for us, eighteen years goes by in a flash and we’re never fully ready for how quickly we have to say goodbye and let them go.

Allyson Acker is a veteran mom, wife, professional writer, wine lover and Yacht Rock addict. She lives in Arizona with her hubby, three (almost) grown “kids” and one fur baby. Check out her blog, www.lifeaftercarpool.com, which features humor, inspiration and tips for moms who have been there and done that. You can also find her at https://www.instagram.com/lifeaftercarpool/