Connor's time... leaving the Nest

I get to watch my little sister see her son off to boot camp. I wish I had some wise words or something to make it easier for her, but I come up with nothing. She won't get to stand in his door way and watch him sleep. She won't fall asleep listening for his key in the lock. She won't know what or if he ate that day. She'll go days or maybe even months without seeing him and it will be one of the hardest things she's ever done. She's always been a lot tougher than me, but I know she loves her baby boy with every breath she takes. It doesn't matter that he's a man and half a head taller than she is-he'll always be her baby. She's done so much for him and taught him so well. There is no doubt that he'll do well. He'll make us all proud. Robyn should be proudest of all. Not because she gave him birth and not because she loves him more than anyone else, but because she gave him wings. He has the strength to spread those wings, the knowledge to know how, and the wind beneath them. There are grown people too afraid to live their dreams. Afraid to try and afraid to fail. The never leave their "nest" and they never learn to soar.