Hello. Good-bye. Again

You know the time worn phrases: no grass grows under his feet; a rolling stone gathers no moss; he’s got ants in his pants; shpielkes (for those of you with Yiddish tendencies). The ultimate truth remains the same: They come and they go. And, so it is with Alex who left at dawn this morning for points West. San Diego, specifically. Here in a flash and gone the next moment. The rhythms of life, eh? In this case, Alex was gone for 15 months, traversing four continents and communicating mostly by email and skype except in those rare moments when we could actually catch up to him in person in those special passages of time overseas. We are no different than any other parent, really. We watch our children grow and take their own baby steps to achieve their dreams, and we watch from the sidelines like so many cheerleaders at an athletic event. But, we are mostly helpless. Children grow and leave, maybe to the next town, over the mountain or maybe to the next ocean. It’s all the same. In this case, Alex is off to pursue his dream of becoming a media mogul and can only watch its twisted path that leads who knows where. Lily and I certainly had no expectations of spending much time with Alex after his return from his 15 month, global odyssey; but, that doesn’t mean we weren’t choked up at his departure this morning. We helped him load his car, helped plan his itinerary West, made some sandwiches for him, gave him some traveling money, and then, poof(!) he was gone…again. At least now he would be within reach by phone. At least now he wouldn’t be off on some incredible third world jaunt unreachable by normal means. Small comfort.

Isn’t it just an extension of the time when you watch them take their first baby step and let go of their hand in that magical moment to see if they can do it on their own? I wonder if that visual image ever changes no matter how much time has elapsed and how accomplished they have become. This is new to me; I can offer myself no expert advice. We will watch, though. But not from a place where we can help dictate a result. He’s on his own now, this kid.

We’ll keep the light on for him.