08/09/2026
I’ve told this story a few times this time of year. The years keep adding up, and the time I have before my son leaves keeps getting shorter.
Almost 13 years ago, around this time of year, my husband and I took our three-year-old son on an easy hike in the NC mountains. Shortly after we reached the top, a couple joined us there. I was pointing things out to Grant, taking in the view, and quietly aware that the woman was watching us.
Moments later, she began to cry and started back down the trail. Her husband walked over, apologized, and explained that they had just dropped their only son off at Duke University and were feeling all the emotions that came with that moment.
I’ve thought about that momma often over the years. Recently, it occurred to me that her son may have since married.
I understand those emotions more deeply now, and I see them often in the boutique. I cry every time Grant starts a new grade.
As I go through school supply lists and start buying snack-sized fruit snacks again, I think about all the parents who are dropping their children off at college, helping them get fitted for tuxedos or wedding gowns, or simply watching them step into a new season of life.
Success at school, graduations, falling in love, weddings, and finding the gown are all beautiful, momentous milestones. But they can also be bittersweet for the moms and dads who have been there from the very beginning.
So, as we sharpen pencils, tighten backpack straps, tie bows in hair, or help a bride into her wedding dress, let’s remember to give a few extra-long hugs to the ones who made it all possible.
