Amanda Lamb: The letting go

It's funny how all of a sudden one day we wake up and our children are flexing their independence. Frankly, it's bittersweet. On one hand, I am thrilled not to have to do everything for them. On the other hand, I am lost sometimes when they don't seem to need me anymore.

From driving to dating, it's all happened so fast with my older daughter. Her younger sister, the baby in the family, is even starting to reveal her independent self more often.

She asked me for a telephone number the other day. I didn't have it and told her I would reach out to someone who did have it. She told me not to bother. She would ask the person directly for the phone number.

My older daughter is leaving for a student exchange program in Argentina today. While I am so excited for her that she is going to have this experience, the thought of her navigating a foreign country without me for two weeks is a little daunting. Or, maybe, I am really daunted by the fact that, in my heart, I know she will get along perfectly fine.

One minute they are squeezing our hands and hiding behind us as we drag them into preschool, the next moment they are getting on an airplane and waving goodbye. Like everything else in life, there are seasons to parenting. I am in the season of the letting go, the season where they pull away their hand and learn to fly ...