Getting Ready to Launch

Walking the ridge in Tennessee, pondering what it means to start new chapters in our lives, I paused to gaze in wonder as an incredibly beautiful red-tailed hawk soared overhead in the intensely cerulean blue sky. The bird seem completely at ease in the 105 degree heat, while my shoes were melting and sticking to the pavement. I wondered at the dichotomy. I being essentially earthbound, was lifted up by the sight of this magnficently free bird. I felt somehow less oppressively mired by the vision of this bird that could become one with the incredibly perfect blue sky. And this thought brought me back full circle to the concept of new chapters unfolding in the lives that we lead.

Here on this lovely campus, ringed by mountains and protected by such visions as the red-tailed hawk, my son would be starting a new, and very important chapter in his life. He was launching into not only high-school, but independence. I knew he was ready for it. I was very much wondering if I was ready for it. I suppose it had taken me all this time, all the months of planning and paperwork, the tedium of packing, etc., to get to this point. To get to the point where I could stand with my shoes stuck to the pavement on the ridge, gazing at the last speck of the hawk's passage and realize this was also a new chapter in my life as well. I too was embarking on a new journey. And I wasn't sure I was ready. I had not even thought about what I would need to prepare in order to launch.

I shook myself free of my thoughts and went on to learn more about what he would be doing for the next year and let this thought slide down to be processed a bit more. That night and the next day were a blur of activity and before I knew it I was waving to him as he stepped into the student activity center and I drove away. He had launched.

I drove for over two hours just listening to a book on CD to avoid letting my mind find any room for its own thought. Finally, I turned off and took a walking break. In the almost silence of the rest area, under the generous canopy of the trees I realized, I had nothing to prepare. I had already launched as well, ready or not.

My new chapter was already unfolding. The ability to enjoy nature's gift of the hawk, the rainbow that I could see peeking out over the trees, those were all signs that I was not landlocked on that ridge where my shoes had become mired from heat and melted tar. I would move forward just as my son would. And when next we met, we would both have grown. Because that is the cycle of life, as long as you embrace it.

So now, several days later, I have been to our Nation's Capitol. I have met many new and interesting people. I have shared time with friends and family, and of course I have shared correspondence with my son. I have a sense of wonder and awe that is focused not only on the incredible opportunities I know he will find, but also on the bounty I am certain is in front of me as well. We will have much to share when next we meet.

As we turn the pages, some chapters truly do come to an end, others remain a constant flowing component (the running subtext) but the book just keeps unfolding - and that in itself is as magical as one could really ever hope for - Life is for learning afterall. I guess I was ready to launch....here's to the next part of the journey. Slainte!