There’s a lot of letting go happening right now.

Letting go of our Kindergartner’s as we give them one last hug, taking in the last of their littleness. They need us to be their brave, so we remain strong as we tell them they’re going to have a great day. And we pray they do.

But we're not letting them go. We're letting them soar.

And as we watch them go off with other kids, our eyes well with tears. Then right when we get into the car, a great sob escapes us, and we cover our face with shaking hands. Because our babies are no longer the infants, we cradled in our arms.

They no longer need us every second of the day. Pulling on our pants, screaming, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, look!" They’re off on their own. In a world, we don't fully trust.

And we won't know if they're hurting unless they tell us. We won't have minute-by-minute updates of their lives. And it will hurt our hearts to get used to that.

But we're not letting them go. We're letting them soar,

just like the children starting middle school, high school, college, or entering the real world.

They’ll learn how to be in this world as their own people.

Besides, we've been letting go all along.

Letting go of each stage,

letting go of the body, we had before our children,

letting go of any bit of control, we thought we had,

and now we’re letting them go.

And gosh, it’s going to be hard. But as parents, we can do hard things.

And won’t it be beautiful to watch them soar?

This post originally appeared on the author's Facebook. Her book "Living FULL: Winning My Battle with Eating Disorder" is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O4mJId