Hold On Loosely

I am a traveling consultant. I guess there is a big part of me that was in denial about that for a while. Thankfully, I am not a true 'road warrior' those people that are on the road 50 weeks out of the year. But, I am gone more than I like.
I think I have come to terms with it. I don't cry anymore when I tell people that I missed his first steps. Last year, in the midst of my 6-month traveling blitz I was seated next to a couple from the Ukraine. They spent the entire (and I mean entire) flight talking. At one point the woman looked over at me and I was holding a picture of Nolan, something I do without fail.
"Is that your little boy?" She asked in a very heavy accent
"Yes"
"One piece of advice, if I may. Don't hold on too tight. Let him go and explore and find his own life, that's your job."
I smiled and nodded, and thought, well you don't know. You don't know how often I am gone.
But, she was right. And I think of her often, and one of my favorite songs "Hold On Loosely" by .38 Special.
So, as I am about to embark on an 8-week trip, coming home only on the weekends I will listen to that song and think of the Ukrainian woman and know that everything will be just fine.