We did not see it coming, but the words were transmitted loud and clear. The words were jarring, I will never forget them. "I am leaving!" These were the words my son had spoken to us. We were breathless, then he quickly stated "he had purchased his plane ticket and pack his bags. He will be moving out and will be settling in Las Vegas." Eventually, he moves to Los Angeles, we knew this was a journey he will have to walk alone! No more of us holding his hand, or making decisions for him. We thought was this his right of passage or a way to cause us to worry. Who knew? It was a little bit of both for us. As parents of course we felt it was the wrong decision and choice of places to go.
We had so many questions, he did not know anyone? How will he live? How will he survive? However, the decision was made, we had to release him to walk this journey by himself. It was a journey that will make or break him. Our duty as the parents, was to be the emergency break open box. We were his life jacket, whether he wanted one or not. We felt like the lifeguard at the beach, that if he steps out to far, he will surely drown. It was not easy as a parent to see your child board onto an airplane and fly off to the unknown. Will we ever see him again? Everything crosses our minds a thousand of times. Perhaps, there are many parents that had to deal with the decisions their children made rather it be good or bad.
Again, we had to remember that our child had to be allowed to walk this journey alone.
This is a picture of my son when he decided to move to Los Angeles California. He stays gone long enough to be an extra in one of Brandi's video, he auditions for the voice, and seen the plight of the homeless people. He would walk home alone from work, to never to tell us where he had lived. The time came when it became too much for him, when he realized the people he left to follow was not as kind as his parents. Did he wimp out? No, he grew up, after being intro to LIFE!
I will never forget the call he made to my husband after a year and six months living away from home; he was asking "if he could return home", of course we said yes! When he returned it felt like the prodigal son parallel out the bible. However, we welcomed him back home, because we knew he learned a lot on his walk alone! #Son #prodigal #Lasvegas #losAngeles #life #walk #alone #journey
What can a parent do?
Keep an open arm for them to return home too! Our son was 19 years of age, when he decided to walk alone, he is now 30 years old now. We had a lot of sleepless nights, and we did a lot of praying. We cried and worried about the safety of our child. We had to honor his decision to walk his journey alone.
Tips:
Stay in contact with your child if they would allow you too. Be available to communicate whenever they call. Always target the location of their where about. Keep an open-door policy for if they ever decide to return home. Most of all just keep loving your child.