So this morning we left the house at 2am to drop our son off at the airport in Richmond. He was to fly out at 5:45AM to Atlanta and then on to Minneapolis and bus to Fargo.  
A few things were happening at that airport this morning. First I get nervous and excited when i go to an airport. I even think it smells of excitement. As we parked the car, and walked in I felt nervous not excited. My boy is 15, he has never flown, he is going to a giant wrestling tournament, he is watching his weight so he is hungry and I can’t feed him, he is nervous but is with his buds so he has to hold that in and not show emotion, I can’t hold him as much as he needs. He has parents that don’t want to let go, more on that later. So as we waited for the rest of the team and coaching staff I watched him. I saw a boy sitting there and I couldn’t tell if he was nervous or excited or maybe just sleepy. But what I did see was a chiseled jaw line, the broad shoulders of an athlete, the look of determination that one gets when they know what they are about to do is going to be difficult, it is going to be relentless and a challenge. The look of someone who has trained for weeks, for years really for this moment. This moment when he has to step out of his comfort zone and push through a wall he has never seen. 
And it was then that I saw me. Sitting just a few feet away, with out the muscles, and with more of a broad belly then shoulders. But the face is the same, we both have that same heart to battle for what we love. We have the same lump in our throats, we have the same stoic look at that moment of everything is cool. When inside he is the same as me, nervous, anxious, a little scared even though we both know it will be ok.

We feel the same. As we caught a glimpse of him going through the metal detectors and briefly made eye contact, my eyes leaked a little. 
 Now a couple of hours later I sit in this coffee shop as he is 10,000 feet up. I now know what I saw and what I felt. Rstar is growing up and what I am most anxious about is that he is going to come back a man. So strong from the battle, both mentally and physically that he won’t need us anymore. I mean he will still want money for shoes, and he will need encouragement to clean his room, and the basics, he is becoming so independent.  
But I guess that is what we are supposed to be doing as parents preparing our children for battle. So when they do face the giants that they will face. Whether it be peer pressure, or a job interview or a bracket of 100 kids wanting to beat him up at a wrestling tournament….in Fargo. You bet-yeah….they come out better then when they entered the battle. 
My son is turning into a man and I am so proud of him. He has been training all his life for a moment like this and so I have to be the dad that gets to sit by his son and just sit. Knowing that he knows I am there if he ever needs me, I will always have his back. To be the dad that gets to enjoy the accomplishments of his children, to be the dad that gets a lump in his throat when his kids are feeling the same. Now I know what that feeling is and it is worth all the heartache because it is the feeling of love that parent has for their children.  
Rstar just battle, lay it all on the line and I pray for safe travels, an injury free week and God speed as you come back to your folks as we quietly sit and wait for your return. We love you Riley.