Leaving the Nest

My husband and youngest son went out to the supermarket this afternoon, while my eldest son helped me cook dinner. We were having such a great time together and then out of nowhere he asked me ‘Mom, when I become a grown up, can I go out on my own?’. Well, my stomach dropped! I mean I know that the whole point of having kids is to raise them to adulthood and equip them with the skills they will need to go out and live their own lives, but I didn’t think I would have to face it head on at the age of 4! I can’t quite explain why, but that question really floored me. So I took a deep breath and said ‘Sure Xan, you mean like move into your own house?’ to which he replies, with an astonished look on his face ‘NO WAY – I live here! I mean – go to the park.’ Phew, that was a close one!