Senior Year Marks a Milestone for Parents Too – Katy Houston Photographer

The senior year in high school can be a super emotional time, and I don’t mean just for the students.

In my own experience, as a mom of five sons, I came to think of the senior year sort of like pregnancy. It lasts about nine months, and by the time it is over, you’ll do whatever you need to do in order to get the kid out.    I played  tug of war between the joys of seeing my children spread their  wings oh so ready to stand on their own and become an adult, and the fear of wondering if they would be safe from one day to the next.  I worried about each one of them walking out the door  to places where we can’t monitor whether or not they and their buddies come home at a decent hour. To this day, I still LOVE watching them  take on new responsibilities and excel in ways I could never imagine.   I  still crumble inside when they face struggles that I cannot and should not even try to fix.  I cry a little when I realize that my days of drying tears,mending scraped knees, and keeping a well-stocked pantry and fridge are becoming distant memories.

What many of us moms tend to forget is that the graduate is not the only one facing a new stage of life.

Senior year  is  a time when the entire family dynamics are about to change in a big way. Parents get to  embark on a new journey too.  Yes, the adjustment can be very very tough, but for the most part after transition (another pregnancy analogy) it is very very sweet.

Not too long ago I got together with this family to create the first portraits they had made since their son was quite young. He will graduate this June and within just a few short weeks will leave for army boot camp.  When he returns, he will be a different human being. That’s what service does for us.

 I’m so glad we did this project.

Life for mom and dad will definitely change.  Their son will come into his own in a great way.  And Mom and Dad are going to be fine.  They’ll be just fine.

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