8 Comments

This is beautiful. Trust can be so hard to find at times, because it can feel like letting something precious go into freefall. Trust is the opposite of control, even loving control...that instinctual desire to keep them safe. Trust is love + letting go. It's the hardest and most beautiful thing, and I too have felt that awe. Also: thank you for the shoutout.

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Indeed. As you can imagine I have been thinking about you a lot through all of this. You are kind of traveling along in my pocket (in a not creepy way!) xoxoxo

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May 24, 2023Liked by Christine Koh

Thank you for this beautiful essay! I was an exchange student in Japan during high school, and when my parents came to visit mid-way through the year, my Dad kept saying, “you’ve turned into the parent!” I was the one leading them, showing them how things worked, and interpreting for them wherever we went. It was a wonderful bonding experience and now decades later, my parents and I are still very close. Good job letting your daughter lead!

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I love this! Thank you for sharing!

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May 23, 2023Liked by Christine Koh

Beautiful! I appreciate your perspective and ability to articulate these changing life roles. Inspires me to be more intentional about shifting my interactions with my teen. Would you consider recording this as a voice essay for one of your mini edit episodes? Such great advice for parents of high school seniors and young adults!

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Thank you so much Alissa, and YES, I WOULD. In fact, in this Thursday's new episode I do that very thing for the first time (and acknowledge that I wasn't sure if it was cool to do that LOL) because a former essay was so relevant to the topic. So thank you for making this ask because it makes me feel like my instinct to do that wasn't totally odd! :-)

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oh my goodness, I love this so much. The shift from leading to following has been one of the hardest for me as the parent to several young adults, but when you can bring yourself to yield, it feels so good...like a deep exhale.

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Indeed. It's so strange and also wonderful!

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