Life goes not backward

Dropped off S at the station this afternoon.  Part of me wanted to go with him as he's having a bit of a rough time at the moment.  However, posting this reminded me of a passage that we've always held dear.

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, 
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.