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There is nothing more special than seeing your kids grow up to be the best person they can be.”
I came across this quote last week and it couldn’t be more fitting. I’ve always walked that thin line of trying to be there for my kids but also letting them figure out things on their own.
Last Sunday was Easter. Ben and Natalie would be with their dad this year and Brady would be at college. After a couple phone conversations with him, we decided that I would come up to the U and go to lunch.
Honestly, I don’t mind the driving. If I’m home, I’m looking at all the projects I need to do or the cleaning. If I’m at the office, there is always work to be done. When I’m in the van, I can turn on my murder mystery podcast or a new book and just go. I probably relax more driving than doing anything at home.
So after early church on Sunday morning, I headed to Minneapolis. I was expecting a very uneventful drive as it was a holiday. But of course, it is construction season in Minnesota so I had some detours to deal with. And surprisingly, there was a lot of traffic, especially on I35.
Eventually, I made it to campus and Brady and I walked down to Dinky Town to his favorite Vietnamese restaurant. To our surprise, the restaurant had permanently closed a week prior. Time to switch gears. We looked around at what was open, and then he brought up the Nicollet Diner we had been to during a visit earlier this year.
So we walked back to the parking ramp, loaded up and headed to there. By the time we got there, it was almost 2 p.m. and the restaurant was not busy.
Instead of sharing a ham dinner with all the sides around a big table, we slid into a booth, browsed the menu and ordered milkshakes with our meals.
Brady has been a huge fan of all breakfast foods his entire life so I shouldn’t have been surprised that his raspberry milkshake accompanied pancakes, bacon and eggs. I was a little closer to Easter food with a turkey club and fries.
We laughed. We talked about the remaining days of the semester. We talked about his classes and projects. We talked about finals. We talked about plans for moving home. We talked about registering for next fall. We talked about this summer. We just enjoyed a quiet, uninterrupted meal discussing life.
By the time we finished our milkshakes and I dropped him off at campus, with another 12 pack of Dr. Pepper Zero to make it to finals, I had a lot of thoughts going through my head.
I drove home, podcast on, thinking about how quickly this first year of college has gone. I am acutely aware of how fast their senior year of high school goes or how quickly the baby stage passes by. But this year of watching my oldest become an adult with less and less of my influence brought on completely different feelings.
As we wrap up this school year, Olivia will be graduating college, Brady will finish his first year of college, Ben will be getting ready to enter his senior year and Natalie will be gearing up for her last year at Holy Redeemer School. Next year will be a whirlwind with changes and new beginnings. But the best part is that these are the changes we’ve worked at for years.
As hard as it is to watch them grow up and leave, it’s the one thing you’re always working toward as a parent. Watching Brady take on many decisions, aspects of life and adult responsibilities with only a few phone calls to mom has been amazing. I look forward to watching it continue with all the kids.
And I’m always going to be ready for milkshakes when time allows.
