Daggers and Feathers

For those of us who have children, we know those moments in life. The ones where we have to reach up and take the dagger out of our freshly pierced heart and gently lay it aside, knowing the aim was true, albeit unintended. Our children can say the most innocent thing to us, not meaning to wound, but doing so anyway. Recently, my younger daughter, on a week long trip to Michigan, called to chat with me for awhile. She sounded down, so I asked if she was feeling ok. She admitted she was feeling a little homesick, to which I replied, "Oh, do you miss me?" "Well, I miss College Station and if you're in College Station, then yes, I miss you." Now, she's been away at school for 3 years already, so she doesn't really live at home anymore. She doesn't even come home over the summer; she works at a camp in Michigan for several weeks. So I don't know why I thought she referred to my home. She doesn't miss Mom and Dad and our home much. And it's right that she now considers her place at school as home. But still...

Then today, as we were trying to get her to Dallas flying standby from Chicago, we had to reroute her through Memphis, then to Dallas, because the direct flights were all too heavily booked. As she approached the gate in O'Hare, she said "I'll call you when I get to Memphis". This was the pinprick that said, "Yes, Mom, I need you to help me, but I'm grown and I can fly around the country on my own and I'll be fine. I'll eventually make it home, well to your home, before I get in the car and drive to my home...". So you know you have raised your child to be strong and independent and capable. A feather in my cap...

Come to think of it, I stabbed my own mother's heart when I went away to college. She drove me to Austin and helped me carry my things into my dorm room. After we went to dinner, she drove me back to the dorm. But instead of parking and saying a proper goodbye, I asked her to let me off at the corner. A dagger to my mother's heart. What do they say? What goes around, comes around...

Here's hoping my daughters get more feathers than daggers!