I am Christian, and today is the first day of Lent. Many people are familiar with the custom of receiving ashes on this day, Ash Wednesday. It is a day where we hear the refrain, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
But Ash Wednesday is more than that, it is a promise of light coming to shine out of darkness. It is a promise of joy to come. It is a promise of things that we cannot see, but that will move us and change us for the better forever.
I find this season of waiting during the last semester of senior year much like this. Senioritis, slogging through that last bit of school, waiting for college acceptances, can all feel a little uninspiring or like a very long path without a lot of variation in the days. But there is promise and joy to come.
Our oldest has an amazing brightness ahead of her, and we are thrilled for her new journey and adventures. But that hasn’t blinded me to the gamut that mothers feel around this time with their seniors because sometimes it can feel dark or at the very least like a gray path that no one else is taking in the rush of the “lasts” of senior year.
If your child is going on to trade school or the military, I see you.
If your child is in the throes of addiction and trying to get healthy, I see you.
If the bad choices and lack of responsibility of your teenager have been difficult this year, I see you.
If you are worried that your child is socially immature or easily swayed by peers and now headed away from home, I see you.
If you are worried because your child is fighting anxiety, depression or anything else, I see you.
If you feel like you are losing your best friend and you aren’t sure what you are doing after this because you have put so much into parenting, I see you. Graduation is a change for parents too.
I see you all and I love you. Change is inevitable; some seasons are easier than others. Children do grow into adults that also have responsibility and choices to make in how they live their lives and we cannot do that for them but that transition between their responsibility and how much to step in can be a blurry line at times.
May we all look forward to the promise of spring, the promise of renewal, the promise of good days to come.
Many blessings on this Ash Wednesday,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
You hit the nail on t he head with this one Carrie. Thank you. I see you too. And appreciate you.
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Hugs!
Thank you for this reminder! We have not observed Lent in any meaningful way for many years and have decided that we will do that as a family this year. I am so encouraged by the promise of renewal.
That’s great, Martha – did you see my last post about observing Lent? Maybe there will be some ideas in there that you can use…Blessings, Carrie
I will definitely look at it. I have been following for a long time, but this is the first time I have commented. Thank you!