It's not easy, sending him off every summer.
I remember that night years ago, when he was only twelve, and I realized, pain welling up inside me, that it was finally time for me to let him go.
Sending him to camp that first summer was the single hardest thing I have ever done. I didn't want to do it at first; I wanted to keep him for myself. But I had to do it. It was the only way for him to be happy.
Every summer when he leaves for camp, I know that there is a good chance that he will never return home. Every day he goes to school my heart skips a beat in fear that he'll be leaving me for good. I panic when I loose sight of him. He means so much to me.
And yet, I have to live with it. I've never been able to get over that feeling.
I know that he has people at camp he trusts. People that I can trust. Chiron trains him well, I know Annabeth is always there for him, and Tyson's a sweetheart. I know his father is always looking out for him as well, wherever he may be.
But I also know that he can't stand depending on other people to defend him. I know that eventually, he's going to go looking for adventure on his own. He told me that his father once said that the sea can't be restrained. And he was absolutely correct.
He needs to be free.
I know that he dreams of enjoying a simpler life, one without monsters and gods, but I think that if he tried it out for just a day, a world like the one he so longs to live in, he would find it impossible to achieve happiness.
I don't think he realizes what his life would be like, without having to constantly remain alert for monsters. It's built into him, it's who he is.
And I wouldn't want him any other way.
But still, it nearly kills me to think that one day, he might not return to his mother's arms. He might not come home from camp and excitedly describe how his summer went. Any fight could be his last.
It's a dangerous world we live in, and I am trying to learn to accept that.
But for now, I just keep the faith. My son is an amazing person, and that he knows how to survive in this world. He knows how to trust the people around him. He knows how to defend himself and his peers. He knows how to work hard and he is determined.
He is a hero.