Suspended moments

A lot has been happening in the Carpenter household recently.

But the biggest moment?

Last week, Pete Carpenter and I dropped our daughter off for her first year of college.

After a long drive, multiple Target runs, and moving all of her things into the dorm, she’s there.

Settling in.
Finding her way.

During family orientation, Dean Joe Boehman shared a metaphor that hasn’t left me.

He described this transition for new college students as a trapeze artist who has let go of one bar to reach for the next.

For a moment, they're suspended in the air not holding either one.

And while that’s true for my daughter, it is also where I am right now as a parent.

Here’s the thing:
This isn’t the first time I’ve found myself feeling suspended in the air.

It happened when I left my role at Walnut Hill School for the Arts to launch Carpenter Leadership Consulting.

When I first became Director of Admission and Financial Aid at Worcester Academy.
When I moved from Boston to New York knowing very few people and changed careers.
When I went on my first solo business trip as a fresh-out-of-college Assistant Director of Admission at Wheaton College Massachusetts.

And even 18 years ago, when I first became a parent.

I’m guessing that you know that suspended feeling too.
When you’ve let go of what’s familiar but haven’t quite grabbed hold of what’s next.

Here’s the reminder from Dean Boehman:
You will catch the bar.

And your safety net (aka. the people who support you) is there for a reason.

Use them.
Trust them.
Let them catch you if you stumble.

Because life (and leadership) is not about avoiding the suspended moments.
It’s about remembering that you’re not alone in them.

And to everyone who has checked in on me this past week, thank you for being my safety nets.

Yes, we’re now empty nesters.
But we’re going with the re-branded free birds!