They Grew Up. Did We?

One day, they tied their own shoelaces
and we smiled proudly.
Another day, they said, “I’ll go alone”
and something tugged inside us.

They grew taller,
quieter,
more distant…
yet we kept seeing the child they once were.

We fed them, taught them, protected them —
and now, we watch them make choices we don’t always understand.
Sometimes they get hurt.
Sometimes they hurt us.
And we wonder…
where did the little one go
who once held our hand so tight?

They grew up.
They adapted.
They moved forward.

But did we?

Are we still holding on to versions of them that no longer exist?
Still waiting for the same giggles, the same rituals,
the same need for us?

Maybe parenting isn’t just about raising them.
Maybe it’s about growing with them.
Learning to let go —
bit by bit, gently, painfully —
while keeping our love unchanged.

Because even when they no longer need us the same way,
they still carry a part of us…
in the way they love,
the way they live,
the way they come home —
when it truly matters.

And maybe that’s what love really is—
not clinging, but trusting.
Not holding them back,
but being their soft place to return to.

We may not walk beside them every day now,
but the path they walk was once lit by our hands.

And no matter how far they go,
a part of us will always go with them.