I love seeing all the social media pics of children going back to school. From the grade school cuties holding up their signs, to the dorm room pics of college kids decorating their rooms.  New, but familiar life steps has me considering the range of emotions the students and parents feel.

For many parents, there are tears of sadness watching their little kindergartner board a school bus for the first time worried how they will cope with all the new activities. Or the middle school parents who have run out of summer activities to do with their kids and long for some return to daily structure, to the college parents who come home to an empty house for the first time.

So many tears, happy tears, sad tears, empty nester tears. And I guess, so it goes with human relationships. 50/50.Half of the time there is pure love and happiness with our kids, and half the time there is sadness and pain. 

What can help with is embracing the 50/50 vs. resisting it; let the tears come when you watch the school bus drive away, high-fiving your neighbor friend who you can now go for a walk while school is in session, and let yourself miss the teenagers who are miles away.

There is room for all of it. 

With every transition and adjustment comes the rush of excitement, nervousness, and worry. This is where we all grow. We meet new friends, we study new material, we see new things.

Relationships blossom, some relationships end, and some get stronger. 

So, when the bus drives way, or you drive away from the college campus, remind yourself to feel all of it. You will only experience this particular transition once in your life. Be present for it.

The sadness, the pain, the excitement. It makes it all worth it. Embrace the 50/50, the 50% painful parts of it and the 50% beautiful loving parts of these transitions.

It’s going to be an amazing year! 

Let’s all hold up our little signs to signify new beginnings and look forward to meeting new people, seeing new things, and learning something new.

Before we know it, summer will return and we will do it all over again.

If you are having trouble navigating through the difficult emotions of this transition, please reach out to schedule a consultation call with me: https://mindyourstrengthcoaching.as.me/