Letting Go

Last night as I quietly lie down for bed a very large lump entered my throat, I could feel my body convulse as I mouthed the words, "Our little Pippi is really gone off and on her own". Much is changing fast and on the surface it doesn't seem like such a big deal that your only daughter is living at the local campus in a dorm room. I keep thinking as parents we are getting off easy having our child basically 5 min from where we work, It's a bit hard to explain how I am feeling, and as I slow down my emotional reaction to the sadness it becomes easier to feel the pain of letting go of 18 years. I am ok with the realization that she is no longer in our charge. I have for a long time understood my job was second to God's. The humanness of the grief my body feels causes me to pause momentarily.