My daughter graduates from college tomorrow. Launching kids is a great lesson in managing boundaries. Once there was almost no boundary between us. Soon she’ll be on her own. The last 22 years have been a process of little by little firming up that boundary.
When she went to college, a young adult in a Bible study group I was leading suggested I watch the movie “Finding Nemo.” “It’s about letting go,” he said. I watched the movie, and laughed, and felt a bit freer. It might be time for me to watch the movie again.
So my answer to the question, “Can you let go?” is, “sort of.” Or, “I’m working on it.” It’s good for both of us when I can.
What about you? Where in your life are you being called to let go? To respect someone’s natural boundary? To give them room to find their own way?
Margaret Marcuson
Thanks, Paul. We had a terrific time at graduation. Hannah is planning to take all of those books with her to graduate school.
Paul Brassey
It happens that Margaret’s daughter played a small role in helping me to let go. She and my son have been friends since birth, and she was a “groom’s-babe” in his wedding. She was at our home over this past New Year’s holiday. Knowing that she is determined to pursue further ancient Near Eastern studies, I went through my dusty collection of academic books and pulled out some volumes that I had accumulated during my own graduate studies and gave them to her. That track had led me to an academic doctorate but a career dead end. My collection of books languished in boxes until I was able to complete the conversion of a garage into a study, complete with book shelves. Giving those books to Margaret’s daughter was an important step for me to “close the book” on that period of my life and integrate it into the person I’m still becoming.