Ah, now I get it!

Every mother has had the experience (many, many times) of looking into her child's eyes and thinking "You are so precious...you can live with me forever...I don't know how I'm ever going to let you grow up and go..." Usually followed by a sigh, a tickle and a hug and a juicy cookie kiss. You play together and your child steals your heart over and over...even when they smear chocolate sauce on the walls...it's precious...maddening, but oh so precious!
My kids are late bloomers...they've been so easy-going for EVER! My 18-year-old twins have been SO FUN! BUT...they're about to graduate...there's something about that final childhood milestone...something that makes the synapses in their strange, misfiring, brain matter go wonky and they completely turn on you. It's happened. They're normal. They're not so sweet any more. They claim I'm yelling when I'm using my softest, sweetest tone. They claim I'm a nag when I ask something for the first time. They say I'm freaking out when I expect good results in a completed task. It's not rocket science. It's the every day stuff that just two weeks ago wasn't a big deal! Normal...but aggravating!
So, I'm pretty sure God, once again, knows what He's doing...giving them the urge to break away, making the warm, cozy nest that they once adored, a torturous prison. God is making the break a clean one...for all of us. They couldn't imagine leaving us a year or two ago...the thought was scary and lonely and strange. Now they're ready...chomping at the bit. So are we. They are free to go. I've done my job - in so far as instilling my values and work ethic and beliefs...now they need go out into the world and be the people they were created to be.