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As my child moves to another country, is in charge of her life

Preeti Patnaik
What are the feelings when a child leaves the safety net we have created for them?  I wonder if the safety net was for our comfort or really for them.

My story

I wonder about when the transition happened, from being a child who needed all the care, to a slightly independent girl to a confident young woman!  I was prepared for the eventuality that my child will leave our home when she is about 18.  Even then, nothing prepared me for the emptiness I feel today and it is for me to fill that space with something for my own well being and happiness.

I am very excited for the opportunities that my little girl, well now a young woman, has for herself.  I am proud of her and I am sure that she will find her space in the world.  I also know that her schooling and her upbringing has made her confident, independent and that she will be careful and keep herself safe.

I also know that she is now working to create her own world and that I need to step back.  Many times I live in her time zone and I realised that it only adds to my anxiety so I decided to live in my present by trusting her to do the right thing.  There is always this dilemma of how much space is good for her, how often should I call her, its a thin line for me between letting go completely and knowing that she is well, working hard and playing hard.  I am trying to learn the right spot.

Slowly I am learning to find peace in the fact that our parenting has been focussed on making her independent and capable of looking after herself.  In my heart and mind she remains the little girl and my heart swells with love and pride when I think of her and that will last till the day I am.  Letting go is difficult but a necessary part of parenting

With lots of love to my little girl

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Published by Preeti Patnaik

The journey of my life is best described as a drama, full of theatre, action, emotion and special effects.....therefore it's worth sharing. May be it will make my readers laugh a bit, cry a bit and feel my love for humanity in general. I am no saint and I have angry moments and angry thoughts as much as i have loving and happy thoughts and this is the whole of me

2 thoughts on “As my child moves to another country, is in charge of her life”

  2. Parenting is often a learning process, and with single kids, we get just one chance. You and Raja did well in shaping her. She will move well in life. You focus only in her present moment, not imagining the next moments about which we know nothing, and which would be moments of the past before we even realize.

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