Children are like kites...

You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you're both breathless. They crash. They hit rough branches. You patch and comfort, adjust and teach them. Finally they are airborne...They need more string and you gradually keep letting it out, but with each twist of the ball of twine, there is a sadness that goes with joy. The kite becomes more distant, and you know it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that binds you two together and will soar as it is meant to soar, free and alone. Only then do you know that you did your job. All this from an afternoon flying kites with my sons that brought tears to my eyes.