The Little Hand Out the Window Wave

Jake Frosts considers how parents must constantly hold space to celebrate our children's accomplishments while also keep them rooted in family.

I love autumn settling in, with crip air and colorful leaves. The turning of the seasons also makes me think of what’s gone before and what lies ahead. It’s a time of taking stock and reassessing, of course corrections.   

And over the years, with some kids now in high school and some not yet started in kindergarten, the destination I’m aiming for in those course corrections has shifted. 

Roots and Wings 

My focus as a parent is still roots and wings, but I appreciate more and more how fun and rewarding the wings period can be. It’s neat when your kids get into exciting things, unexpected endeavors, and great undertakings, and you get to be there cheering them on, learning as they learn, and seeing how it all unfolds.   

And to see your kids believe in themselves and go for something, especially something hard, and worthwhile, is a great feeling for a parent. 

Another thing I’ve learned now from having older kids is how fast the wings time comes. 

The season for roots, when we have our kids with us all the time, when we can have great adventures without ever leaving our own backyard, is brief and precious. 

And so important. 

The time of wings begins now, in the season of roots. 

Those few, fleeting years for roots is what prepares and makes possible the time of wings.   

Roots can be hard, and sometimes exhausting, but every bit of love and energy and effort, every second of time, that we put into it pays dividends that are tenfold and hundredfold and more in years to come. 

Dividend Time 

So with the changing seasons, and its sense of endings and new beginnings, as I’m thinking about where I am and where our family is, and the direction we’re heading in, investment in roots for my younger kids still at home is high on priorities list. 

I was thinking about this while sending the kids off to school one morning, and wrote this poem: 

To See the Little Hand Out the Window Wave

by Jake Frost  

To see the little hand out the window wave
Is a sight my memory will always save  

The little hand, the happy smile, 
And childhood passing all the while  

Lord let me seize this time while I can,
For soon my boy will be a man! 

And a bonus, the dividends that roots-time will pay in the future is not just for the kids, but for you, too! It’s a joy to parents to see their kids doing great things and loving life! 

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Copyright 2025 Jake Frost
Images: Canva