ALL GROWED UP

A very strange thought crossed my mind the other day,' when does one actually grow up'?

Recently, my ten year old had to be dropped at the railway station for a class trip. I taxied it with her in the wee hours of the morning and upon reaching found a few children had already reached with their entire families -- mummy, daddy, brother, sister, et al. The more the merrier.

She met a few of her friends and moved up to say hello while she kept me at the corner of her eye.
As the group slowly assembled the train finally entered the station, we waited for the harassed teacher's signal to move, but finally decided we had to do the honours.

After bags were stowed and the seats identified, one teacher suddenly finding her voice bellowed,"parents please get off the train".

Since there was more than half an hour left for departure I decided to hang around the platform 'just in case'. The windows were tinted black so we couldn't see through the glass. I had counted the rows so I had an idea as to which window my child was sitting beside.
What happened the next half hour was a sight to watch, parents cupping their faces and peering through the glass making strange faces at their little ones, oblivious to the rest of the world, taking turns with other family members. It was like a ritual and a done thing. I took my turn too, but it suddenly struck me that our little 'grown ups' going on the solo trip(minus family) may be embarrassed with our emotional demonstrations.

Every child goes through this embarrassing phase in life, but when is it time to let go? and who decides it's the right time?Do we wait for 'THAT' one fine day when your child tells you how embarrassing you are? but the most important thought that crossed my mind was when did we parents become so carefree and child like again.