My 19-year-old moved across the country with 4 days' notice. What he packed made it easier to let him go.

The author's son (not pictured) brought his teddy with him when he went to college. FatCamera/Getty Images My oldest son told me on a Monday that he was moving 3,000 miles away that Thursday. I understood his need to leave because I'd made a similar move at the same age. When I visited his new home, I discovered he'd brought the Christmas bear he'd had since childhood. My oldest son was my only child for three years. I think that built a bond that doesn't exist with any of his four siblings who had to share me from day one with an expanding brood of children. I can honestly say, I do not have a favorite child , but it was this oldest one who taught me how to be a mother. That included how to let go when the time came.