parenting sweet spot

My teens went to Scout camp today and I miss them.

I wasn’t expecting this particular emotion mere hours after they left, considering I spent years longing for a weekend alone, yet here it is.

When the children were younger, my only wish was for a day to spend exactly as I wanted. Parenting littles was fun, but it was also exhausting. Not all parents want to be needed every minute of the day.

Nowadays, the kids are self-sufficient, which, in an unexpected twist, has allowed me to become the parent I always hoped I could be.

Now that I have time for myself, it is easier for me to wholeheartedly make time for them.

I am convinced we all have a parenting sweet-spot, that there is one age range where we thrive as parents, and finally, I have found mine.

It feels rather unfortunate that the years I most enjoy parenting are the very same years our children are designed to push us away.

I get it. I know they need to want to leave the nest to leave the nest, and believe me, that moment is the moment we have been raising them for.

But at this moment, right now, I am sad. I miss their hugs and their snark and their well-thought out arguments as to why it is perfectly fine to spend their hard earned money on skins in a video game.

They’ll be fine without me. And I’ll be fine without them.
That is how this growing up thing works, both for them and for me.

What I know is that when they are ready to talk, I’ll be here, sitting in my parenting sweet spot, ready to listen.

Parenting teenagers is simply the best.