That moment when your second child graduates from high school....Friends, it is hard for me to believe that I have been producing this newsletter long enough now that I find myself writing about the second of our offspring reaching high school graduate status.Long time readers may recall reading my preamble from the first time around when our daughter left the nest a few years ago -- which, for the die hard preamble fans and those that are interested, can be found HERE in case you missed it.It is now our oldest son's turn -- as you read this, barring any last minute theatrics, he is a newly minted graduate. We had the opportunity to grab lunch at Chipotle recently and share some rare one-on-one time with each other. It was interesting catching up and having a fairly adult discussion about his experiences and what this all meant.We talked about how eager he was to get to the next phase of his life and to meet new people and learn new things. He has always exhibited a curiosity about what the world at large has to offer, and he is both nervous and excited to venture out, expand his horizons, and absorb everything.He then asked me about how it felt to be a parent preparing for their son to soon leave the friendly (okay, he is still a teenager, so it can sometimes be a bit contentious) confines of home. As I generally tend to be, I was radically candid: even though his mother and I are really proud of him and excited for him, it is still scary as hell for me. I think he was a little taken aback by my initial response.I quickly reassured him that this doesn't mean that I don't think he can handle it or that he won't succeed. On the contrary -- I believe he is definitely ready to take this next step in his journey and growth. But, because he is probably the most idealistic of my children, I felt that I should caution him to remember that life has no playbook.No matter how much you seem to think you have things figured out (and when you are 18, you think you have a lot of things already figured out), life always finds ways to put us in situations that are not in the scripts we write in our minds. I told him it's how we handle ourselves in those moments that help define us. Do you freeze or freak out? Do you stay calm? Do you make an impulsive, hasty move? Or do use all that you have learned along the way and have the confidence to make an informed, but likely imperfect decision and deal with whatever the consequences may be?I shared that, when I was his age, I didn't fully appreciate this. I honestly believed that if I prepared, studied, listened, observed and thought things through enough, it would always be obvious what the right play to call would be. I thought I would be able to eliminate ambiguity from my life. I told him that, looking back and reflecting on what I know now, I was wrong. And I shared that I worry that I may not have done enough to prepare him for those moments when he realizes that there is no playbook and he has to call an audible.My son sat there for a moment, pensively looking at his Chipotle burrito and chewing on the knowledge I had just dropped on him. I could tell this father-son bonding and my showing vulnerability was really having a profound impact. After a long pause, my son looked me in the eye and said, "Dad, sorry, can I just say that I am totally not feeling this burrito today? You know, I'm thinking we probably should have called an audible and just gone to Panera instead." How many days until he leaves again???Selected some good articles this week for you -- hope you have some time to check them out. Have a great one!XOXODave