Hands Full and Letting Go

I used to think the hardest part of parenting was always having my hands full. Whether it was cradling my tiny newborn who felt breakable, or hanging on to my patience when sleep was a distant memory, or gripping my toddler’s hand as they crossed the street. I was always carrying something: school projects, youth sports schedules, and bedtime rituals.

But in retrospect, having my hands full was the easy part. The real challenge was learning to release. To free their hand when we arrived at their classroom door. To allow them to climb too high, knowing they might fall. To give them permission to make mistakes—real ones—because experience is the best teacher and is what builds resilience.

At first, the stakes seem small. A spilled cup of juice. A forgotten homework assignment. A missed curfew. But then comes the hard part—driving away when they get their license, watching them fall in or out of love, watching them navigate mental health challenges, testing big boundaries.

“Parenting is a balancing act between protecting them and preparing them; Between stepping in and stepping back; Between holding and launching”

Parenting is a balancing act between protecting them and preparing them; Between stepping in and stepping back; Between holding and launching.

And the thing about this untethering is that it never stops. Every release, every goodbye, every moment they choose their own path feels like both a loss and a gift. One day, you hug them in a doorway—maybe a college dorm, maybe at the airport—and realize the letting go part is what you have all been preparing for since you first held a lot of their life in your arms.

So you have to give them room to grow, to stumble, to rise. And you need to give yourself grace as you learn, over and over, how to love them from a little “farther” away, knowing even though your hand grip is much looser, you can still be a soft place to land.