Dang! As soon as I saw the title, I knew this particular one was for me. Thank you for putting into words my own struggle.
"I secretly decide that I know better, that with all of my wisdom and experience, I am uniquely qualified to direct my child’s adult path. Not only do I think I anticipate the mistakes he will make, and reflexively think to prevent and correct those mistakes, I also project my fears and anxieties about those mistakes onto him in this moment, when they are nothing more than potentialities rather than actualities. But anticipation and prevention are no longer my roles (and projection of fear never was), and if I do not relinquish them, I will cause injury."
This is beautiful!
Dang! As soon as I saw the title, I knew this particular one was for me. Thank you for putting into words my own struggle.
"I secretly decide that I know better, that with all of my wisdom and experience, I am uniquely qualified to direct my child’s adult path. Not only do I think I anticipate the mistakes he will make, and reflexively think to prevent and correct those mistakes, I also project my fears and anxieties about those mistakes onto him in this moment, when they are nothing more than potentialities rather than actualities. But anticipation and prevention are no longer my roles (and projection of fear never was), and if I do not relinquish them, I will cause injury."