Empty Nest

My youngest child moved out of the house on Sunday. He's flung himself out of the nest into the big, scary world alone.

He's struggling to make a life for himself. He's struggling to feel like a man and be successful in his own eyes. And he's trying to do it all today. Instant gratification. He doesn't want to believe there's a natural order to a life well lived.

I have tried to explain these things. This has not had an immediate impact on his choices. It may in the future. I have hope that my efforts have not been wasted.

I wish things were happening in a different order. I wish circumstances were different. I wish growing into a man didn't require such deep struggle against one's own self. I wish we didn't all need to battle our own demons.

But we do. And he does. And I'll bake him cookies when he needs to come back and tell me all about it.