The bow released the arrow ...

 

From the words of Gibran ...

"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable".




And from the heart of a Mother ...

The reason that cliches are so, well, cliche is because they just work. Yesterday one era of our family story just slipped into the beginning of a new chapter.

We took Corey to college. It was only 18 short years & 2 weeks ago that he was born.

Yesterday, we watched him walk off into his future amidst a little Tampa drizzle.

Now there are 4 of us at home. A whole new dynamic. A whole new chapter in all our lives.

I remember all those years ago thinking on this day - the day he drove on his own, the day he dated, the day he fell in love - the one which totally suckered me in the gut was the thought of him leaving.

Even more years ago, I read the words of Khalil Gibran.

As we drove off, those words came flowing back to me. They resonated through me, soul to soul, enfolding me like a well seasoned shawl, affording great comfort & solace.

I am surprisingly happy & excited for Corey. It is time. His time.