When my wife and I were younger and in the process of raising our three boys, I can remember thinking that this is not easy, but we can do this. As the boys reached the teenage years, it suddenly got a little more complicated. My thoughts then were that this is simply not easy by any means. It could actually be impossible!
One by one the boys successfully graduated from high school. The oldest went away to college. He eventually graduated from Baylor University, and then went to law school. The middle son, announced to us that he wanted to take a year off to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He eventually joined the U.S. Marine Corps. The youngest received a vocal scholarship and went away to college. He returned home after two years, fed up with the world of scholarships and college. He joined the work-a-day world shortly after that.
We had decided that when the youngest left home, the hardest part of parenting had come to an end. The "empty nest" was finally here. Little did we know, the hardest part of parenting was still to come. Don't let anyone tell you that parenting basically comes to an end when the nest is empty.
Parenting is a lifetime job. It changes as your children reach adulthood. It shifts gears to another style of parenting, but it is only just beginning. Trust me on this.
Parenting is tough at any age.
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