Getting In, Part 13: Practice

My college-bound child (okay, adult, but still my child) has been so busy that I joke that we are practicing for her being away when she leaves for college. One fewer plate at the table, one day that doesn't get discussed, one fewer set of whereabouts to track. And practice is good. Practice makes us better. Practice, as some would say, makes perfect.

I talk about our "practice" with a smile and a laugh, but I don't feel better, and I certainly don't feel as though I am perfecting anything. When it is time for the real thing, I imagine I will be grateful for this trial run, but right now, I just miss the plate at the table and the day we're not discussing. When it is time for the real thing, perhaps it will feel not so unreal for us all, but right now, it feels unreal, and too real, and just a little more dizzying than I'd like.

Once again, I--we all, actually--are faced with the fact that "getting in" isn't really just about "getting in." Today it is about "letting go." And "hanging on." And "working out." And today is just the practice...