Although we’ve come to the end of the road, still I can’t let go. It’s unnatural.
Boyz II Men
If you made it this far in the post and didn’t finish singing the rest of those lyrics, you might want to go back and read it again. I’ll wait….
Sooner or later, most of us come to an end of the road. It could be a job. It could be a sports career. It could be what once was a dream. One thing is for sure, there will be an end of the road.
You’re probably saying “Aaron, what in the heck are you talking about?”
Let me just give you one example.
Youth/High School/College sports careers and our kids.
It’s hard to believe but my bride and I have reached the place in time when the end of the sports journeys are here. It seems like yesterday we were letting them try them all. It seems like we were just buying more equipment than I want to admit. At one point we estimated we spent approximately $15,000 year on various sports between all 3 children (teams, equipment, meals, hotels, gas, parking, etc). Don’t judge us. We did it willingly.
Yet here we are. Last meet. Last game. Last appearance. Last run. Last inning. We’re reaching the end of the road. At some point in their journeys, all three of our children have reached a point where they were faced with this being the last time. THEY have reached that decision, moment, conclusion.
And they were at peace with it.
As parents, we face this ending on two fronts. We first must allow our child to work through their process. Allow them to come to a place where they have closure. Allow them to reach a place of peace in their decision. Just like we cheered and supported them during the various seasons, we must do the same as they come to the end.
The second front we must face is for us.
From the beginning we supported, cheered and educated ourselves on whatever their sport was. We gave them the best we could give them. We were there when they scored the game winner and hopefully we were really there for them when they didn’t. We too must let go. We too must get to a place of peace and closure. It can be hard when you have poured as much time and emotion into it as they have. Maybe even more?
The great philosophers Semisonic once said, “every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.”
There is another beginning waiting to happen. There is another road to take. There are more moments to cheer and celebrate. They may not include team colors, shirts, logos and scoreboards. Now they will be career success, young families and eventually (gulp) grandchildren beginning their sports careers.
I close with this…..
Several years ago my father-in-law and I stood at the wedding reception for one of his daughters. Having spent the day watching him give one of his princesses away, I simply said “how do you do it?” Right about that time, our young son (and his first grandchild) went running by. Pointing to his grandson, he smiled and said “that is how you do it.”
We will come to the end of the roads in life. Our kids will too.
There will be a next road.
Give them the courage to take it
and drive like there is no end in sight.
For everything there is a season,
A time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
