Personally. . .

I'm feeling rather peaceful tonight, after a stressful week. My fourth son graduated from high school. My fifth son graduated from eighth grade. We have one more left in middle school. In six years all of our boys will have high school diplomas and perhaps we can enjoy our empty nest.

I remember the early years. Each baby coming, two or three years apart. By the time my oldest was thirteen, I had an infant and four others in between. All the way from puberty to infancy. I don't have to point out that those were difficult years.

Now they're nearly grown. Three have left and gone off on their own, and often I want to call them back. Isn't that the paradox of parenthood?

But while war rages in Afghanistan, Iraq, and various other places, I can lean back and smile on the men I have raised. My own personal peace. Often that's all we can ask for.