I’ve been preparing my heart for the incredible milestone that has been chasing me like a demon these last few weeks.
Sassy’s college graduation.
Tomorrow I make the drive to the city filled with
Pirates. Right past that city is a
small town that is the home of the college that has wrapped my daughter in
love, patience, knowledge, challenge, defeat and victory. (Of course it CHARGED us for all those
services, but that’s another story entirely.)
I’ve been thinking of the incredible college field hockey
coach who was determined to harness her talent. I can’t thank her enough for believing in her, for making
her feel important, valued and awesome.
She believed in Sassy, and in these four crazy, turbulent years she was
the one constant mentor and friend that Sassy needed. The girls on her team have taught her so many important
lessons; some were painful, and more than some were filled with joy. The girls she's played with will be a part of her life forever, of that I'm sure.
As a mother, I know that her journey has really just begun. (Well,
I PRAY that it has just begun.) She
will travel a path that only she can walk. It will be filled with twists and turns and she will be dodging
arrows shot from invisible enemies left and right.
I pray that the knowledge and lessons she’s learned from these four
years and from the people she's met will give her the weapons she needs to avoid danger and evade the painful
shots in the heart. I hope that she will be able to spot evil when it smiles at her
sweetly. She’s had experience with
that, unfortunately.
I hope that she’s learned that kindness, empathy and a good
heart are very important weapons to carry in her bag. Sure, she may need to kick some ass
every now and then, but I’m not worried about THAT part. I want her to remember what I’ve told
her for a THOUSAND years: make good choices….and be a nice person.
But I know what happens. I know what
happens when we graduate and leave home.
We think we know it all! We
think we are invincible! We think
that life will only be wonderful and that the choices we make will all work
out.
And sometimes that’s true.
So tonight, I pack my bag. Tomorrow I'll go meet the milestone that’s
waiting for me in Sassy’s dorm room.
I’ll ignore the pangs in my heart, the tears that are pooling, the fear in my head and rejoice in
all that she’s accomplished. She's an amazing young woman.
And I will pray very, very hard that the choices she makes will only bring her joy, and a long, long life.
