What I rediscovered on this search for a college…

This week I’ve driven with my son through 9 different states so that he could check out colleges.  He’s about to finish his junior year of high school and his spring break was a great chance to visit schools.  It’s peaked his interest in several programs.  It’s given him a chance to think about what he wants to do with his life.  It’s also given him a chance to see what is possible after high school.  We saw four different colleges.  Some in large cities and some in small towns.  I learned a lot about the schools and rediscovered some things as well during this adventure.

I rediscovered the energy that exists on a college campus.  There’s excitement and possibility no matter the size of the campus.  There’s a joy in learning something that you can actually turn into a career.  There’s exploration and discovery whether it be in class or in some form of recreation.  There’s history in the buildings.  There’s also the fun of starting your adult life.

The part of me that sees the possibilities that exist all over loves being on a college campus.  This is the same part of me that wants to do everything and the part that I wrote about last week.  So, maybe hanging out on a college campus too much isn’t a good thing for me.   I’ll just want to do more things, experience more activities and explore it all.

Regardless, it was a great week to spend with my son.  I got to see the world as he is beginning to see it.  I was able to better understand some of his interests and I saw more of what he wants to do with his life.  Now, he’s only 17 and I know that he’s going to change his mind about many things in the next few years.  He’s at that age of discovery and it shows in how he’s approaching his search for a college.

I’m grateful for this week with my son.  I’m also exhausted from all of the travel and trying to keep up with all of the many details this week.  I’m ready to go back to my routine, to teach some yoga classes and prepare for my upcoming Navigating Change group meetings in April.  I’m also ready to sit back and watch what my son does with all of the information that he’s gotten in the past week.  It’s exciting to watch your child make these decisions about their own life.  So, I’m sitting back and letting him choose his own path forward.

This past week I’ve also rediscovered that I don’t want to be in charge of my son’s life forever.  He’s going to be an adult soon and he has to begin to make decisions that will send his life one way or another.  I’m ready to support him in any way that I can.  I’ll take off work and facilitate a couple more college tours if I need to do so.  I’ll support him as he begins to fill out college and scholarship applications.  What I won’t do is tell him which direction to take.  It’s hard enough to figure out my own life directions.  Why would I want to do that for someone else?  So, he’ll have the pleasure and frustration of figuring that out for himself.

I’ve also rediscovered that I love spending time with him but too much time in a small car is maybe not the best thing.  So much forced closeness in the confines of my small car led to irritation and frustration at times.  Yes, time with him is great, but time apart is great too.  We both need our space to regenerate and that’s hard to do on a trip like this.

Being kind to myself through rest, eating the food that’s best for me and quiet time to regenerate are so important to my mental and physical health.  This trip pointed out to me yet again that I have to do these things no matter where I am and what I’m doing.

I rediscovered so many things in such a short time.  I’m so glad that I took this time with my son and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of it.

We still have a spaces left for the Spring Retreat on April 14th.  If you’d like to take the day to renew your spirit and regenerate your body, then sign up here.