Launched

One down, one to go. We are in Ft. Myers to celebrate S's graduation! On Monday he starts his new job with an ad agency in New York.  I couldn't be more proud and of course I am feeling so sentimental.

This image says it all to me. Those kids are creating something amazing in the sand. They are taking the raw materials given them and they are focused, working, building a city of castles. And when they are done their parents will take a picture of them with their creation and it will go in a scrapbook or a tumblr and that will be the memory they retain.

Here's what nobody photographed:

• Dad and Mom planned for this trip, bought the sand toys, packed them in the car and carried them down to the beach. They also brought all the food, water and sunscreen required for the creation of that city. 
• As I watch, Dad has begun digging a moat around the city to keep the tides away as long as possible. 
• You can't see her in this picture, but Mom is watching as the 3 year old goes back and forth from the surf to carry water. She does not relax in her chair reading or writing as I do. Her vision constantly follows whichever child is closest to any type of risk. 

This is parenting. You plan and prepare and support. You divert your children from risk as much as you can while still enabling them to build and create. You watch most closely the child who is at risk while trying desperately not to communicate your own fears. You stay in the background whenever you can, to make sure that what they build is truly theirs. And then, when the city is built, you take pictures and celebrate the Builder. The one true Builder who gave you that child for a time, as well as the son or daughter who built those castles. Well done, my dearest S. Thank you, Father.