If You're About to Launch a Young Adult into the World
It will start with broccoli
Hi friend! I'm Vanessa - writer, certified life coach, and midlife menopausal maven. I share honest reflections on creativity, energy, and finding flow during midlife and menopausal transitions. If my words resonate, consider joining my Flourish & Flow membership community for deeper support through audio/video reflections and creative workshops, and special events.
Tis the season for launching kiddos out into the world—whether into the workforce, university, community college, or travel.
This post is taken from something I wrote two years ago on my Instagram, right after my oldest graduated from our homeschool and then left for the summer.
It’s based on my actual worries about broccoli, hydration, and baby blankets.
I’m now getting ready to launch my boy twin, newly 18. He is taking the workforce path, similar to his older brother. His twin sister will take one more year of high school with a combination of online homeschool classes and local community college classes.
My oldest, now almost 20, graduated from paramedic school yesterday and is making his way in a career he loves and thrives in every day.
If you’re in the space right now, I hope these words can bring comfort and a little virtual hug that you’re not alone and that you’ve done good, friend.
It will start with broccoli.
You’ll sit and wonder if you’re adult-ish kid will ever eat broccoli on their own.
And then you’ll worry if they will ever eat any vegetables at all ever again.
Will they stay hydrated?
They roll their eyes every time you tell them, “Stay hydrated!”
You'll help them pack their things and try to give them extra snacks, pillows, and gum.
You’ll scour your closets for extra toilet paper, paper towels, sheets, cleaning supplies (I mean, they’ll need to clean something, right?), and possibly a random wooden wall shelf.
Just in case.
You try to sneak their special baby-blue blanket into their backpack, but they don't want it, so you shove it in the washing machine.
You wonder when they stopped needing it to fall asleep.
Your brain wanders back to the broccoli, then vitamins, and a Yeti water bottle because #hydration.
And you know you've done enough, but never enough, because that's the thing about motherhood.
You've read books, watched videos, read all the blogs, joined parenting memberships, and parenting Yahoo groups (because you’re THAT old and started parenting pre-Facebook).
You’re thankful for your friends who are navigating this same space with you and find it comforting that they worry about broccoli too.
And deep down, you know it's not really about the broccoli but about a piece of your heart walking out the door.
Sending big hugs to all of you who are in the launch phase.
Don’t forget to take good care of yourself, too.