Letting Go

Letting go of our loved ones is probably the hardest part of life. Whether it's saying goodbye to move to another state or country, or saying the final goodbye it's all hard.

A very close friend of mine is going through a tough time right now. Her father passed away recently and it wasn't too long ago that her mother passed away as well. Losing both parents, I can't imagine. But she is strong and I know she will make it through this. She just needs time and prayer.

Today, I am writing about letting go in a different way. I bought season passes to the water park here in Boise, and the girls and I are having a blast so far! Our youngest, Natalie, is scared of the water but she's opening up. Kailey is very much a fish. She loves the water and believes that she can swim, even though she really can't. She wants me to let her go and swim like the other kids but I keep explaining to her that they know how to swim, she doesn't. "Yes I do Mommy!" I kept hearing that over and over again yesterday. So finally, I realized that she wanted to be Miss Independent. So I put a little kid life-vest on her (and Natalie but she didn't' want to swim) and with much hesitation...I let Kailey go in the water. She was splashing and having fun but I was so nervous. I was right by her but still, I had a hard time letting her go on her own. My heart had this tugging sensation. I was scared, but I knew that it was important to let Kailey go on her own, even in a life-vest, so she could experience what the other kids were doing.

I'm learning that at some point our kids have to try new things and we as parents, especially Mom's, have to realize that yes, they could get a boo boo but we will be right there to patch it up. More importantly, we must encourage them to try again. Teaching our kids doesn't just come from their lessons in books, it's life lessons.

One last thing. Although I was terrified to let her go on her own in the pool, I will remember the smile on her face and her giggles more than my feelings.