When you have a little baby, you cannot imagine ever sending them off to school, but by the time they’re 5, they’re ready. Same goes with graduating elementary school – your baby can’t possibly be ready for middle school, but they are. The pattern continues when they graduate high school. That milestone is perhaps the hardest on a parent’s heart – but they are ready to move on and conquer something new. 

And you miss them like mad. There is a part of my brain that is always flashing, reminding me that Scorch isn’t home and it feels odd- like a dull ache that never really fades. 

Then your kid comes home for Thanksgiving. And just like all the other milestones you’ve been through with your kiddo, you’re So Ready for it. You are so damn happy to have your family together again. They are home. They are safe. The flashing stops.

But…they are also a little insufferable. They are trying to figure out how to react to answering to their parents again after months of freedom. They are not quite as enthused about spending allllll their time with you as you hoped they’d be. They discover the joy of Thanksgiving Eve.

And you? You’re exhausted wondering when they’ll actually get home each night. Wondering why the hell they can’t answer their texts when you know their phone never leaves their hands. Hoping they remembered to bring home a decent pair of pants for Thanksgiving dinner and that they aren’t hungover. 

Then the time is up and it’s time for them to go back to school. And you’re both ready. Dear lord, are you ready. But you’re also sad and your brain starts its little warning flash again.

But just like the pain that comes with childbirth, you’ll forget over the next 2 weeks how freaking stressful it was having them home, and you’ll be counting the days until they’ll be back for a whole freaking month at Christmas.