Will you celebrate when your kids leave for college or university?
You may or may not have an empty nest yet, but there are still reasons to be joyful when at least one of your chicadees takes flight and is on their way to a post-secondary education.
Let’s turn things upside down, shall we? I get the feeling you may not be feeling so happy these days and are probably struggling with mixed emotion. Stay with me…
-We’re watching them pack for college.
-We’re noticing them feel a good healthy dose of confidence mixed with a little bit of nerves.
-We’re getting a sense that our relationships with our kids are changing and they won’t ever go back to the way they were.
-We understand that our kids will start to live lives that we know very little about.
-We wonder if we taught them everything they needed to know to go forth into the world without us.
How am I doing? Does this resonate with you?
Are these observations making you happy?
Don’t worry, it’s not a slam dunk for me either. I’m working on my thoughts about this constantly. But hear me out. Here are three reasons why it’s absolutely time to kick up your heels and celebrate when a kid is ready to leave for college.
Independence. It’s a huge deal if your kids are in the position of being ready to venture out and start embracing an academic, goal-oriented lifestyle. I would like to suggest that your parenting had something to do with this. It was probably a unique blend of opportunities and lessons that moved your kid in this direction. Even though kids may feel a little nervous, the overriding emotion for most of them is that they’re ready for more independence. They feel it in their bones and are ready to fly. 
Curiosity. Kids don’t become curious without being brought up in an environment that encouraged asking questions. When you practice something, it becomes a habit. Being brought up like this provides many opportunities to practice being curious. Asking questions. Looking at things from different perspectives. Curious kids understand that learning is something that’s fun to do.
Excitement about the future. Many of us take being excited about the future for granted…that is, until you meet someone who is not positive about all of the potential in his or her life. Going to university is a super important transition that typically makes kids feel great.
Why? Because of the way they are thinking of the transition and all that’s possible. Thoughts produce feelings and ultimately, the results in your life. Results prove your thoughts.
Of course they may have some nervousness and a bit of fear, but they want to move INTO the fear and nervousness, rather than resist it. This is because they’re excited about the future overall.
Did I convince you? I think that raising an independent, curious kid who’s excited about the future is an AWESOME reason to celebrate! Well done! Cheers!
Need more help? Check out the 9 Secrets to Get Unstuck in your 50s!
