Chapter 49 - what i told leo before he left
The night before Leo left for college, we sat on the back porch.
He was eighteen.
Old enough to leave.
Young enough to still need his mother sometimes.
“I'm scared,” he said.
“Good.”
He laughed.
“You always say that.”
“Because fear means you understand something matters.”
He looked at me.
“What if I make a huge mistake?”
“You will.”
He stared.
“Thanks.”
I smiled.
“You'll make mistakes. Just don't build a life around hiding them.”
He became quiet.
Then he asked:
“Do you regret anything?”
I thought carefully.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Not leaving sooner.”
He nodded.
“Anything else?”
“I wish I had trusted my instincts earlier.”
He looked at me.
“Would you change the gala?”
I smiled sadly.
“No.”
He seemed surprised.
“Why?”
“Because I hate what happened.”
I looked at him.
“But I love who you became afterward.”
He hugged me.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.”
When he walked inside, I stayed on the porch.
For the first time, the house felt quiet.
Not empty.
Just quiet.
And I understood that raising a child wasn't about keeping them close forever.
May you like
It was about giving them enough truth to walk away without needing you to choose their path.
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