Welcome to May...an absolutely crazy month for most families with children. Squeezed in among spring weddings, first communions, confirmations, soccer and lacrosse tournaments are high school and college graduations. As if May weren't harried enough, graduations often pack an emotional wallop that can take Praying College Moms by surprise and leave us, well...discombobulated, to say the least!
Graduation for some of our high school seniors is a celebration of "finishing strong"--they're into a good college, they aced their finals, and they seem ready for college. Others succumbed to senior slide and eked through finals, graduating by the preverbal skin of their teeth. Regardless of the back-story, their graduation marks a turning-point, an important passage, a milestone we can appreciate, right? But it can be bittersweet. We will miss the tight-knit community who warmed benches watching basketball or came together to put on post prom parties. We will miss the cadre of our children's friends in and out of the house, and the late night chats with them where we were able to connect to offer consolation and advice. Things at home will never be the same...
The highs and lows of college graduation are even more accentuated because, on the one hand, we relish the huge raise we get when we make the final tuition payment, (cheers) and on the other, our "little one" are finally all grown up and ready for gainful employment, often in a distant city... permanently! And that can hurt.
As with nearly every transition during parenting, emotions can run deep, thoughts whirl, as we temporarily loose our anchor. Whether our hearts swell with pride as we smile ear-to-ear, or we struggle to hide the disappointment as we wonder about their next step, Our Lord is near and He wants to share our emotions, our worries, and our joys. "Call to me and I will answer you..." the Lord tell us in Jeremiah 33:3. During the turbulent month of May, let's not abandon our prayer chair! A few minutes each morning with the Lord restores our equilibrium so that we can weather unexpected disappointments gracefully or feel deep pride and joy.