If you’re like me there are certain sensory inputs that can instantly take you back in time. It can be a song or a smell or a taste or a question, but it can make you feel the way you felt 40 years ago. For example, “Midnight at the Oasis” takes me straight back to the summer of ’76, ROTC summer camp, every morning the clock radio woke me up to the same song followed shortly by yelling and leaping out of bed. Good times. And then there’s “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, painting my Dad’s rental property with my brother Bob. I think it was the summer of ’72. I could go on and on, but it seems the older I get the more vivid the memories. So last week when our new Vice WG/CC Jeff Kozak mentioned he was taking his son to college for the first time this week, the memories came rushing back.

If I had to answer the question, “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?”, the answer would have to dropping Erin, my oldest, off at college for the first time. Now I’m not saying that dropping off daughter #2, Leigh, was easy, but I’ve been told that by the time you get to kid number 4 or 5 you just slow the car down enough to prevent major injury and keep going. The first time is always the most difficult. I think that works for colonoscopies as well!

So we rented a van, crammed in all of the things she was sure she needed, and headed for Knoxville. I remember fighting for a parking spot close to the doors, waiting for a baggage cart, and sweating profusely in the August sun. Peg set up her room, helped her unpack and met the, shall we say, interesting roommate. We dragged it out as long as possible, but eventually there was nothing else to do but say goodbye. As I drove away and watched her wave in the rearview mirror, it took every ounce of willpower not to throw it in reverse, drag her in the van and head for home. I didn’t go back, but let’s just say it was hard to see the road for a long way.

Being a parent, and I’m sure a grandparent, has been the most rewarding experience in my life. But the goal and the joy is to produce mature, self-sufficient, Godly adults. We’ve all seen parents who won’t let go and end up with kids that run away as soon and as far as possible. If you raised them right and let them go, they’ll come back not because they have to, but because they want to.

Good luck Jeff!