Well the “Nest” is empty. Our oldest daughter is a senior at the W. She moved back to the dorm last Wednesday. The youngest daughter is now a freshman at the W. We moved her, and nearly ALL of her stuff, to the freshmen dorm on Saturday.
Some people...a lot of people…primarily Moms, fall to pieces on the day their children leave for school or college. I haven’t. Perhaps it has something to do with my age, I was knocking hard on the door of 40 when I had my daughters and now at 58 I may well be one of the oldest moms sending kids off to college. (Except for my baby sis who has a 6 year old and she is barely over the 50 mark!)
My husband and I have worked hard all these years to raise our girls to be independent young women. We think we have succeeded. I was teaching them to cook when they were old enough to do things around the stove and not get burned. They were making scrambled eggs in the microwave by the age of 6 and making Mac and cheese by the age of 7. During our homeschool years they learned a lot of things that they might not think are necessary now but one day they will be glad they know it. But I digress…
When we arrived on campus Saturday, and began to unload the van, there were swarms of helpers and made that part pretty easy for the incoming Freshmen and families. We were interviewed by a WCBI reporter. I had on no makeup and looked like a 59 year old sweathog but I gave the young man his interview. Why us I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I made eye contact. Maybe it’s because we pulled up in a 15 passenger van that was filled to the roof; or maybe we just looked interesting and were willing to talk to him.
He misspelled my name dang it. Oh well. And apparently a lot of people watched it because my Facebook page went ballistic with messages. Ahhhhh our 15 minutes of fame.
After helping Erin and her new roommate adjust bed height and moving furniture around to make floor space, and unpacking and filling out forms, her dad and I left. We stopped and ate lunch and watched a storm cloud blow over. We drove home and resumed our lives. I had a church bulletin to finish and he had yards to mow. When dinner time rolled around we ordered a pizza. When I heard my husband placing the order, I thought to myself, we have not eaten a pizza like that for years. It was a meat lovers with jalapenos, something the girls never liked so we stopped ordering it years ago and only got pepperoni or 4 cheese. With them both gone now I can cook a lot of things that Scott and I have not enjoyed for years.
When I awakened this Monday morning to the cooler temps, my mind thought about all the little projects I want to get done around the house. I am repainting a couple of rooms, redoing a bathroom floor, and turning the downstairs into a separate living space for when they come back. While this is still their home, when they come back it’s not going to be the same for them; Not because I have moved their things downstairs, but because they have had their taste of life away from Mom and Dad. They have had to start making life’s important decisions without our direct input. They have been able to come and go as they please to a certain degree.
It’s not going to be same for another reason too. Scott and I had barely a year alone before our little family grew beyond two people. Now nearly 23 years later we finally have our time together instead of having to plan a date night. That is already very nice. We miss our daughters, but they are standing on the edge of the nest and its time for them to fly like they have been talking about for the last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment