graduation

So for the past few weeks, we’ve been hearing about how great it is that these kids are embarking on an exciting new chapter of their lives. Yep, they’ll each agree with you there. In a couple of months, the kids from Max's class will be heading off for Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, Tucson, Boston, Philadelphia and all points in between. They will have nice new “long” sheets for their new beds in new rooms with new views with new friends, studying with new books, getting to know new teachers, hanging out in new coffee shops, making their own decisions about practically everything, learning about sides of themselves they can only now barely imagine. Can’t get much more thrilling than that.

And what of those they leave behind? I know… get out the violins.

The risk you take when you let your kids go is that they will not return home. I know that. I know that because three of four of us Baker kids did not move back home after attending college in various parts of the country. I know that because most of our friends’ children have continued living in or near the places they went to school. I know that because our own daughter has not lived in Kansas City since she waved goodbye to us on a beautiful fall morning in New Haven, Connecticut eight years ago, turned and walked toward her freshman dorm.

This house will be very quiet next year. And I guess it will be quiet for many years to come.

There’s a pretty good quote that you can find on those gooey graduation cards, pink usually, with some flowery embellishment along the edges that says: there are only two lasting bequests we can give our children – one is roots, the other is wings.

I hope Max and his friends (these guys have become part of our family over all these years) will remember how to fly back to this nest on 58th Street.