Milestones...

I remember turning 16. Vividly. I remember 14, 15..........16!!! It seemed to take forever, but it meant one thing to me....
Independence.
I had a thing for independence.

Here is my picture of the day...

I took Shay to get his drivers license at 7:00 am.
On the way home, I looked over and saw him smiling. He was giddy.
He was planning out his day, driving to and from school, how he was going to pull back the sunroof, what music he would be playing, where he was going to park.
Independence.
I don't know how I feel about independence.

In the back yard of my parents home, a nest was built and a robin laid some eggs. That robin protected those eggs so much so that my Mom was afraid to go out back. We watched the eggs turn into baby birds and then one day the Mom showed up with a worm & perched herself on the opposite wall of the baby birds. They knew she was there with a worm and opened their beaks, waiting for her to come and drop it in. She didn't. She sat on that wall, forcing her babies out of the nest. Waiting for them to fly. And sure enough, that's just what they did.

Faith.

This letting go, this forcing him out of the nest thing is hard, knowing that he is on the cusp of so many decisions, mistakes, challenges and dangers. Knowing that the best thing for him is to gently force him to fly.

Thank goodness we are not exactly like the birds and have to do it in a two week period of time.

So, Happy Birthday, and Independence Day Shay!!! We love you!!!