My Son

Youthful expression takes on many different forms and your son is no exception.  While I sense he is kind, considerate, studious and somewhat shy, he still understands the concept of freedom.

Free to experience life in a different way.  Free to express him-self without certain parental restrictions or overview.  Free to simply be.  You need not worry about him any more or less than any other parent.

This is a time when both of you will learn to expand by letting go of certain prior held beliefs and restrictions.  I know you feel he is challenged more than others and thus your heightened concern for his wellbeing.

Trust that he has the necessary tools and coping skills to not only survive, but to succeed and thrive.  Instead of blanketing him with concerns and worries, fill him up with confidence and reassurances.

He will be as stable and independent as each of you commit him to being.  Choose independence and stability and it shall be so.  Conversely, should you choose worry, concern, codependence and instability, so too shall it be so.

The key here is to parent with calm confidence while allowing each of you the gift of spreading your wings.  Leaving the nest is hard on everyone, especially the parent.

Expect the unexpected knowing you are willfully able to address any situation and above all else, remember to love one another free of judgment or blame.

The wayward fledgling always remembers its nest; it just needs appropriate life lessons and experiences in order to appreciate its return home as a more mature and independent being.