I attended the Mom 2.0 blogging conference earlier this year, where I had the pleasure of meeting Doug Block, a documentary filmmaker whose recent movie, The Kids Grow Up, is about his teenage daughter Lucy's last year at home. From his website: "Moving seamlessly between past, present, and the fast-approaching future, Block has not only crafted a loving portrait of a girl transitioning into womanhood, but also a deeply poignant look at parenting and what it means to let go."
I can relate to Block's sadness about the speed with which his daughter Lucy has grown up, and at the same time, I can understand her desire for privacy and independence. It's the age-old dilemma that parents face: we spend so much time, care and love bringing up our kids, only to have to let them go.
It was fitting that Doug chose to attend Mom 2.0, a conference where a perennial topic is how parenting bloggers can keep blogging about your kids, even as they're getting older and want more privacy.
The Kids Grow Up debuts on HBO this Sunday, June 19 at 5:15 PM (Father's Day, fittingly), and will be available on DVD on July 19th. I really recommend it – it's moving, honest, and quite touching. Here's the trailer: