Spring Breaker

My son took off on a southern road trip on Friday. He has sent some photos from the road--there were sunny skies in Atlanta and cloudy ones in Alabama. The most recent shot read, "Welcome to Florida" with palm trees along the perimeter. I understand the pull toward freedom and warm weather for his time off, but I'm relieved he's keeping in touch. Because there's a part of me that wants to call to say, "Hey listen, it occurs to me that I may have forgotten to warn you about [insert common risk faced in young adulthood] over the last nineteen+ years." But I've resisted the temptation to cram life lessons into the minutes he's driving further and further away from his childhood home. He's on his own to find places to sleep and eat, to fill the time with conversations and relaxation, and to embark on adventures that make him the incredible person he is and will become in the future. We'll be here when he returns, and I bet he'll have some great stories to tell.