4/20/2024 Email

Last August, I wrote an email with the subject line “Roots and Wings,” and in it I included a
quote that was meaningful to me about raising children. At that time, I was sending my
daughter off for her first year of college.
A few weeks after sending that email, a thoughtful reader sent me a gift in the mail – a
beautiful cross stitch of the quote. I have it framed in my office where I look at it each day.
Catherine’s freshman year is not quite over, but this week in between the end of spring
semester and May term, she is taking a break – a “spring break.” And Lord help me, as I
write this, she is driving to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Hopefully by the time you read this, she
will have arrived safely. (Of course, then she has to drive back next week!)
I know that greater independence is a healthy part of growing up. I certainly exercised mine
when I was her age! But it doesn’t mean it’s easy on the parents. While giving her roots was
the more comfortable thing to do, watching her take wings is just as important.
God Bless,
Margaret
Margaret Keightley
Executive Director
Catholic Community Foundation of the Diocese of Richmond