{"id":4066,"date":"2015-10-19T07:12:10","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T12:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/?p=4066"},"modified":"2015-10-19T07:27:52","modified_gmt":"2015-10-19T12:27:52","slug":"as-the-patter-of-little-feet-become-footsteps-out-the-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/2015\/10\/as-the-patter-of-little-feet-become-footsteps-out-the-door\/","title":{"rendered":"As The Patter Of Little Feet Become Footsteps Out The Door"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"father-445096_640\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It hit me all at once this weekend.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nothing that I didn\u2019t already know, nothing that I didn\u2019t already feel.<\/p>\n

Yet, it has overtaken me, as if by surprise.<\/p>\n

Powerfully. Almost destructively.<\/p>\n

Yet, somehow peacefully.<\/p>\n

I still struggle to place the raw emotions in meaningful context.<\/p>\n

I still want desperately to protect, to reach out my hand, to cleanse the wounds, to heal the hurts.<\/p>\n

Yet here I stand, apart from them.<\/p>\n

I can only watch as baby steps have become powerful strides.<\/p>\n

Childhood fears replaced by eager confidence.<\/p>\n

Now others, more often, stand in my place to cheer them on, to hold their hands, to move their hearts.<\/p>\n

Dreams and hopes may change.<\/p>\n

But from this point on, I\u2019ll know only as much as they\u2019ll permit.<\/p>\n

Jobs, and exams, and papers, and lovers, and friends.<\/p>\n

I watch all of this from the outside.<\/p>\n

For there is no longer a need to share every frustration, every hurt, every sadness.<\/p>\n

Or even every joy.<\/p>\n

But I want them to know that they both still can.<\/p>\n

That I will always listen.<\/p>\n

That I am just a phone call or a text message away.<\/p>\n

Yes, they are both, more or less, on their own now.<\/p>\n

Yet I can\u2019t help but remember the patter of little feet, feet that have now become footsteps out the door.<\/p>\n

So I am proud, and grateful, and happy for them.<\/p>\n

I also ache. If just a little.<\/p>\n

But I also know that it\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

For everything now is as it was meant to be from the beginning.<\/p>\n

So be at peace, both of you.<\/p>\n

Be at peace.<\/p>\n