Sunday tears

Maybe I have been oblivious for the past few years, or maybe I was a bit more attentive on Sunday afternoon as our athletes arrived for the beginning of preseason. Either way, I did notice some sadness and tears from a few of the mothers of our incoming freshman men.

Although our own children are still relatively young, I can somewhat relate to this as a parent. When we first started on this parenting journey 12 years ago, everyone sagely told us, while nodding their head: “You watch. It will all fly by.” Yeah. Yeah. I know. Trust me. I know. I’m sure this was behind a lot of the tears on Sunday afternoon outside the McCann Center.

Part of the parenting gig is dealing with a line from an old Billy Joel song: “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes/I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again.”

Each stage of a child’s development is a mini goodbye: The last diaper change. The last kid in a booster seat. The last kid to get on the school bus for the first time (that’ll be us, next Wednesday … woo hoo!). The last time a kid needed that teddy bear to fall asleep. The last time a kid is big enough to carry up to their room, when they fall asleep in the car on the way home from grandma’s house.

On and on and on.

And so there were tears. Here’s a tissue. We understand. And we will try to keep your boys in good hands for the next four years.