My friend told me something about parenting when I was pregnant. The truth didn't hit me until my son went to camp.

The author writes about the emotion she feels when she picks her son up from summer camp. Courtesy of Lindsay Karp My friend told me something when I was pregnant for the first time that I never forgot. He said, "Having children is like having your heart walking around outside your body." Those words have never felt more true than when my teen is at sleepaway camp. When I became pregnant for the first time over 15 years ago, a friend offered me words I never forgot: "Having children is like having your heart walking around outside your body." His words were sweet, but I didn't fully understand them just yet. When my son was born, those words came to life, but as a stay-at-home mother , he wasn't yet venturing beyond my sight, so I knew he was safe and well in real time.