25 Reasons I’m Grateful My Kids Are All Grown Up

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As I watched my youngest, Alex, pack boxes for his final year of college, I felt a swirl of emotions—immense pride as he steps into adulthood and a hint of nostalgia for the days when parenting felt all-consuming. While I do miss certain aspects of raising school-age children, there are countless reasons I cherish this new chapter of my life.

1. No more repetitive paperwork each year, filling out forms with the same info over and over. Back in 2010, it was all done by hand—what a hassle!
2. Writing checks for everything—lunch tickets, books, fees, you name it—was a constant drain on my time and energy.
3. And then there were the extra checks for booster clubs, uniforms, and all those cookie dough fundraisers. It never seemed to end!
4. Making lunches only to find them uneaten in backpacks was frustrating. (Seriously, who can resist chips?)
5. Let’s not forget the endless carpools. Enough said, right?
6. After 13 years of waking Alex for school, he now manages to get himself up for college. What a relief!
7. Shopping for school supplies was an exercise in futility—those pink erasers were never used, and don’t even get me started on the endless packs of paper.
8. Small talk in the parking lot with other moms could be a real trial, especially when comparing kids’ achievements.
9. Buying two dozen mechanical pencils that mysteriously vanished within days became a yearly tradition.
10. Purchasing cute outfits for my daughter only to see her revert to a sweatshirt and jeans by mid-September was amusing in hindsight.
11. PTA meetings were often a bore, but skipping them felt worse, even though I often wondered why I bothered in the first place.
12. Back-to-school nights were dull—did anyone really want to be there, aside from the eager new teachers?
13. Parent-teacher conferences always left me feeling judged, especially when my kid wasn’t the star pupil. Thankfully, that anxiety faded after 2nd grade.
14. Annual check-ups meant more forms and shots—just what every parent loves.
15. Driving past school to ensure Alex was mingling with friends was a ritual of mine, though thankfully, he never walked the fence alone.
16. The dreaded head lice saga—need I say more?
17. Smelly sports uniforms that required daily washing were a true test of my patience.
18. Navigating middle-school drama was heart-wrenching at times.
19. The endless cycle of colds and flus seemed to be a rite of passage.
20. Homework was a constant battle that I’m relieved to no longer face.
21. The flurry of auditions, contests, and prom preparations felt like a never-ending popularity contest.
22. Waiting for prom invites and dealing with the pressure of asking someone was a whole other level of stress.
23. The jitters of the first day of school and the infamous senioritis were part of the journey, though senioritis should definitely be classified as a real condition.
24. The chaos of college applications—essays, fees, recommendations—was overwhelming.
25. The anxiety of college admissions felt like a parental illness in its own right, deserving a spot in the DSM-III for sure.

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In summary, while I miss the chaos of raising young children, I’m embracing this new phase of life. The freedom that comes with having grown-up kids is liberating, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.