Go West Young Man

As I stated in my last blog, I have been busy lately struggling with the fact that I am about to move 600 miles away to begin my career and start the next chapter of my life. The other day I had a conversation with my father which helped me to understand, and justify what I was doing. Now as I sit here on Mother's Day, three days into the new adventure, I realized that I owe a lot to my parents and the gift they have given me.

I've wrestled lately with the fact that when I move, I have this feeling that I will be losing a part of my life. For the first time in my twenty three years, I have the ability to go and do something that wasn't planned for me. I have the chance to go and make a life for myself, to travel, to explore, to make mistakes, and to learn on my own. But I feel that when I leave, I sort of feel that I am giving up on my family, leaving all the hard work that my parents have done to help me get to this point. But then it hit me, almost like a brick to the head I understood what was going on.

I struggled with the idea of leaving and not being a part of the daily life on the farm. And at the same time my parents are letting go of their son and giving him a wide open road, guided by their excellent parenting and commitment to family. I realized that while I was feeling guilty for moving and beginning my own career, that I was finally achieving exactly what my parents had always wanted me to be able to do! I cannot wait to move into a new apartment or home in Iowa, begin making new adventures and decisions, and to create a new place for my parents to come visit (sorry its only Iowa)!

So if you read this, and you think that perhaps it relates to something you have gone through in your life, perhaps a job you were able to take or a move you made, and you think to yourself, "you know, if my parents hadn't done all they had, I never would have made it this far", then I encourage you to call home and have a conversation with those who have helped you all along the way.

Happy Mother's Day MOM.