My job at Covenant has a variety of tasks. One of my favorite tasks is what I call “senior parent coordinator.” Early in the school year I host a senior parent meeting to discuss the details of the year, which include events, expenses, and deadlines. It can be overwhelming for parents; all the responsibilities and things to remember, deadlines to meet. My job is to remind and support our senior parents.

I’ve been through senior year twice now as a parent - one of my own graduated in 2008 and another in 2011. After being a CCA parent now for 24 years, I find myself entering our last child’s senior year. The last of the Saladino kids is a Covenant senior, and I’m wondering just how different this year will be. When it’s all said and done, and she walks across that stage, what will I value? What will I be grateful for? What will I regret? How am I going to survive this last senior year?

Here are the most important things I believe will help you and your student have a successful, smooth senior year: 

1. Make sure they know the basics - things like:
• How to properly clean a toilet
• How to make a phone call (especially in this world of texting – our kids need to know how to call and ask questions for business purposes)
• How to care for a car – gas up, when to have the oil changed, what to do about a flat tire
• How to do laundry successfully without creating pink socks!
• Anything else that will help them live independently once they move out of the house
2. Let go. Wow! Letting go is hard for many parents. But I believe this may be one of the most important things I can do for my senior, and myself. The more she is prepared now, the better she will handle becoming a future college student and a responsible adult. And from previous experience, I can tell you that the more prepared my older two children were, the easier it was to watch them leave and go to college. I worried less about them because they were “ready.” So, let go, and let them figure stuff out. Stop doing it all for them. Stop rescuing them.
3. Spend time with your senior. Make family dinners a priority. Schedule time when nothing will get in the way. Listen to them, even if it’s 11:00 pm and you’re exhausted. Take it all in and pay attention.
4. Pray. There is no better way to spend our time, on our knees before the God who created them and loves them far more than we can imagine.

Now is the time to do these things while your senior is still living under your roof. You have one last year to practice giving them more responsibilities and to let them go.

Surviving senior year is not going to be easy. Time will slip by so fast, and there is so much to do. However, even as we feel stress and sadness, we can celebrate! God has given us these precious children to raise, to love, and to hold onto for just a while. We want them to grow, mature, and chase their dreams. It is right, and it is good.  This is an exciting season, and it is worth every tear we may shed.