Already Gone

My momma mapped out the road that she knows
Which hands you shake, and which hands you hold

My mother majored in Home Economics. And insisted that all of her daughters learn how to cook and sew so we wouldn't "waste" our college education learning those things. Beyond that, my parents didn't map out any life plan for us other than the expectation that we go to college. I hear so many parents make pronouncements about what their kids will or will not do. As if their kids have no life of their own. No free will. And then they wonder why they always seem to be at odds with their children...

In my hand-me-down Mercury, ready to roll
She knew that I had to go

Or a 20 year old Honda Civic. Or what the girls jokingly call "the ghetto van". But it isn't really about the car, it's about being ready to spread their wings to fly. Off to the West Coast. Off to the East Coast. Off to another town in the southern part of our state. What's important is...have I created a home they want to come back to? Frequently?

Make the mistakes that she made
Cause she knew all along...I was already gone

I try not to interfere to overly much. All moms interfere to some degree. We get to as part of being a mom. But I try to give my kids information and point out options, and then back off. People are going to make mistakes and it's not my job or anyone else's to save people from their own mistakes, not even my own children. Sometimes, people actually learn better if they're allowed to make a few mistakes. So if my kids are doing something I disagree with, once I've said my piece, I try to disengage myself and let them take it from there. They're all strong-willed enough to know what they want, and are going to do it anyway.

Life is a runaway train you can’t wait to jump on
-Sugarland