We are in a Club, Parents of High School Seniors

(Inside: Parents of high school seniors, what a surreal place we find ourselves in. But, you are not alone, we are in a club.)

We are in a club, the parents of high school seniors.

In this together.

Because we’ve been there since the first school days: cartoon character backpacks, lunch boxes filled with halved grapes, and classrooms boasting brightly colored alphabets.

We remember the stages of each other’s kids from toothless grins to Check-e-Cheese birthday parties to tiny soccer cleats.

The years stretched out in front of us rolling like the plains of the Midwest.

Little hands tucked themselves safely into ours, and we liked it that way.

Then, blink.

Here we are.

Sharing sneak peeks of Senior photo shoots on social media, and lingering over each other’s pictures, it all feeling surreal.

Obsessively checking the parents of seniors class page to figure out when to order this, sign up for that, and show up here.

Accepting the 10-day Senior Photo Challenge, lump in our throats as we settle on posting the shot of our sons standing in front of the fish tank at the zoo, lips twisted into a fish-mouth-shape, posing proudly.

Parents of high school seniors, connect with your big kids over these 400+ conversation starters.

Stopping each other at the grocery store and swapping post-graduate exploration, yes for tips, but more to simply talk about our kids while we are still the live-at-home-with-me parent of them. We know it’s all about to change.

Staying up later if all the schedules have magically aligned and our people are hanging in the living room. We ignore the hands on the clock and wait until everyone has wandered off to bed because we know how sacred the being-together moments are.

Whispering constant prayers asking God to elongate this year. To slow down the clock, even though everyone keeps telling us senior year is the fastest yet.

Watching our emotions ping pong around the room like an indoor squash game going from deep sorrow to pride to confusion on how-fast-it-all-went to longing-to-go-back to pride again.

Finding ourselves pausing in the ordinary, looking around and just being. Soaking it in, letting gratitude fight its way to the top of the ricocheting feelings.

Connecting over the same journey we see each other at a high school game or band concert. Our eyes meet, and we smile and wave acutely aware of our similar journey, weaving us together tightly.

We’re in a club, the parents of high school seniors.

Hearts cracked wide open.

We get each other.

The holding on.

Not yet ready to turn this page.

Wondering if we ever will be.

But taking comfort in that we’re in this together.

Shopping for your family?

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Parents of high school seniors, join this community of moms raising big kids…

Your brain bounces between your day at work, what time(s) your kids need to be at practice, your teen’s missing school assignments, that you haven’t called your mom lately, the load of the laundry to be switched, “What’s for dinner?” and “Why are 3 of my brain-tabs frozen?” 

You are raising tweens and teens and college-age kids – the unique parenting phase where everything gets easier…and harder.

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