What do you do about the kids as you get older and they do too? What happens when they are presumably out on their own, the nest is empty, and you are aware of how much help they seem to continue to need from you? How do you honor their choices and judgments and individuality when they are still forming who they are and want to be?
Independence is a desired state of being, not only for the young, but for those of us who have "been there, done that."
Honoring independence means minding your own business. In other words, except in severe cases of disaster, health or economic, probably it is best to leave well enough alone and to stay out of the way.
Over-tending a flower garden can result in the ruin of many a beautiful blossom. Nourishing and gently coaxing a plant or a young tree delivers more desirable results than stomping and flailing around the tender shoots as they strive upward.
While this won't apply to every reader, whether parent or grandparent, sensitivity to the needs of youth is a characteristic which needs to be nurtured. One is never to old to discover ways "to be there" for others, particularly our own.
So take time, listen, be patient, observant, kind, thoughtful and generous with your own spirit. Such behavior will reap great rewards. It will also model for those who are younger good habits for self-enrichment and development.
Growing is a 24/7 enterprise. It is there at the moment of birth and it continues through the very last breath.
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