Boom Box
Parenting Lite
Live Reports From the Midlife Adventure
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; Page HE02
This morning, my wife and I were sitting at the breakfast table alone.
Our son, a high school senior, had the morning off from school that day and was sleeping in, and our daughter was at the University of Delaware, where she is in her freshman year. Patty commented she wasn't looking forward to our mornings once both children were off at college.
It was so quiet.
What will it be like, I wonder, once we've sent them both off to college? We're typical boomer parents, active with Scouts, Sunday school and the various sports-related activities with our kids. After 20 years of raising our children, will we be done? I don't think it works that way. They will certainly continue to need our support financially as well as emotionally. But at the same time, both of our children have struggled, sometimes inappropriately, to assert their growing independence. So I guess we will have to learn to loosen our grip on their lives, as hard as that may be.
They want us there and need us, but only when they really want us or need us. It's a new form of parenting -- parenting lite -- with all of the angst but half the control. Does it ever end?
If you're a baby boomer, you're at least 42 years old this year, and we're seeking your firsthand report. We're looking for life lessons, for things learned over a handful of decades and representing the widest range of personal backgrounds and identities. We'll publish some reports in this space. Write no more than 200 words. Include your name, age, where you live and a phrase describing your submission. Include a photo if you like; digital preferred. By e-mail: boom@washpost.com. Put "Boom Box" in the subject line. By U.S. mail: The Washington Post Health Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Sorry, we can't return photos.
