A New Milestone

We've reached a new milestone here in our family. Matthew went off to camp yesterday. He's been gone about 36 hours, and it's been very, very quiet. (That could be, in part, because Nathan has no one to fight with. I'm just saying.) He's up in South Carolina right now, so it's very weird knowing that my eight year old is in a whole other state without a single family member. He is with a group of rising 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders from our church. To be honest, while I miss him, I haven't worried about him. First, Matthew is very social. Just ask his teachers. :-) The chance of him being homesick is very, very low, because he'll be having too much fun hanging out with all of the other kids. Second, he is with a group of adults that I trust implicitly. I know most of the chaperones that are on the trip, and I know they will take care of him as well (or better!) than I would. And finally, he's old enough to be on a trip by himself without Mom or Dad around. At some point in time, you have to let your kids grow up. While I love having them around me (most of the time), I also know that my job is to help them learn to live without me hovering over them. So, I sent him off with $8 to buy junk food (plus snacks in his suitcase) and a reminder to listen to the leaders. He'll come back tired, dirty, with a pile of laundry, and hopefully with lots of wonderful memories. Isn't that what parenting is all about?