Introduction

I am the proud mother of a daughter and son. My children have been the best experiences of my life. Raising children is a combination of self growth, humility, elation, hope, worry, patience, learning, failure, happiness, pride, disappointment, and an appreciation of life. I know I didn’t do everything perfect, made many mistakes along the way, however I did some of the important things right. The most difficult was letting go and allowing my children to make their own choices. Trying to support them in those decisions even though I knew the road would take them far away was the most challenging. I did not realize just what that meant until my son made the decision to attend West Point Military Academy and now is stationed in Iraq.