Lisa Froman Archives - Mothering in the Middle

Dear Alex (A Letter to My Son Before Graduating)

by Lisa Froman

Note: I found this letter in an old folder. It’s a letter I wrote to my son, Alex, 11 years ago when he was preparing for his high school graduation… and a new life away from home. Me? I was preparing for an empty nest and a new life at home, without my only child. It still resonates as truth for me, all these years later. I’m sharing this letter with all of the moms (and dads) who are preparing to see their children go off to college or move away. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Dear Son,

Your dad and I love you far, far more than what we could ever put into words in any letter. But if we could…if I could, I would say…

I see my window of influence is closing and it will soon be time for you to stand strong and make your own footprints in this world. It seems like we’ve been preparing for this day since you first learned to walk. I remember the day when you took your first steps–one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve–baby steps, and then you fell into my arms. […]

When Shift Happens At Midlife

by Lisa Froman

NEVER IN LIFE is there a need to call on the power of grace and humility more than at midlife. As we take measure of our lives, we can find ourselves dismayed, discouraged and disillusioned to find our lives simply no longer fit us. All that we thought we were, no longer makes sense. Suddenly, we don’t fit in our own skin, never mind our own clothes. We look in the mirror and see faces, even bodies, we no longer recognize.

At midlife, many of us begin to feel a shift, or an unearthing, as I like to call it. Our jobs may or may no longer interest us in the same way, our relationships with our spouses or partners may have shifted —for better or worse—or even ended. […]