First Daughter Goes to College

I never prepared myself for this day. It's not like just another spend the night party, or trip to the lake with friends, or school trip. It's watching your child go out into the world.

Today I wish I could muster up a better picture of our country and culture, but I can't. I wish I could tell her that her life will be easy, but I can't. The one thing Kathleen and I can stand on today as parents is that we have let her know the truth about what's out there, good and bad, and given her an unsheltered freedom to live HER life. We've only demanded one thing of her; that she use her mind to be smart, safe, intelligent, and above all else kind to herself, her body, and to those around her; that being "good" is relative, being "smart" isn't.

So as I shed these tears that drip on the boxes of clothes that I carry to her car, I feel hopeful that we have raised a real, kind, sweet, and intelligent woman who will now begin her journey to find her place in this world. We're so proud of her, her heart, her love for life, and the great energy that she brought into our lives in June of 1994.

I'm so grateful that I was given the chance to be a parent in this life; to see what love brings forth, and to see the possibilities of what her life could bring to the future.

I'm already missing Natalie...