We Survived The First Year of College
We are survivors! I can hardly believe its been an entire year since i wrote "letting your senior go". Well it is true we had to let her go. and we actually did survive, well not really. yes we did and you know it wasn't actually that bad after all. You must know that the further your child goes away to school the longer you have to sit in the car and think about all the horrible things that could possibly go wrong. Let me tell you, i had five grueling hours of nothing but farmland and open highways to allow my mind to go buck wild. Occasionally there was a cow or two and the "worlds largest truck stop" to ease my mind a little bit. Every once in a while i would look back through the little peep hole in between the jam filled car and see the college girl, earbuds in and sleeping away. Im sure she was dreaming about her upcoming freedom, and how annoying her parents are while cheering "give me an f give me an r give me an e give me another e oh yeah thats me"! All while i sat white knuckled and having heart palpitations.
Then we arrived. we pulled up to her dorm where the unpacking began in her tiny 10x10 new residence. I mean how do kids survive in those rooms, its like sticking your head in a paper bag. One tiny window, that i told her not to ever stand, sit, hang out of, or even look at, ever! once i got past the small room and horrifying window we made several trips up to the seventh floor, i thought for sure that would be the icing on the cake and she would want to just go back home. I mean who has time to ride and elevator seven floors every day, several times a day? It didn't phase her, so almost immediately i starting the task of putting her multiple mattress protectors on her bed so she wasn't eaten alive by bed bugs. Check. Then immediately after that stocked her fridge with waters and snacks so she didn't starve or dehydrate. Check. I quickly ran out of things to do that were in my control to keep her alive and reasons to stay with her. the almighty rush week was having their first meeting and she needed us to go so she could get ready for it. Then the sh*t hit the fan, my husband fell apart like a toddler running with a cookie. We were all a mess. We left her, and I didn't know it then but that was the last I would see her. We stayed at a local hotel for the night just incase there was anything last minute that came up, like changing her mind completely and wanting to come home. But nothing, and in the morning we thought we would say goodby but the rushers of rush week held another early morning meeting so we were off. I told my husband to drive slow as we pulled away from town just incase she decided to pack it up. But still nothing. Actually Im pretty sure I could hear her screaming "whoohoooo" as we drove away. I don't know how because she was suppose to be in a meeting. Hmmm.
I'm not going to lie, I would have to do live checks on her to make sure she was still amongst the living and when she would call me I knew she either needed money or she was homesick for a millisecond. That part sucked, but in the end you want your children to become independent strong people, so I got it. I like to think she was enjoying every moment and exploring, just keeping busy every minute she could, okay, maybe partying a little. Nah. So, although it seemed like forever, we got to see her beautiful face again at Thanksgiving, and again for Christmas. I was so happy to see her, and I think she was very happy to be home too. Except, we had to do the typical "when your in our house you have rules, 2:00am doesn't fly here"! For that reason I think she was very ready to go back. It must be so liberating to have that freedom, and to be treated as an adult when your away, and I try to remember that. If she only knew, who wants to be an adult when your actually an adult!? Anyway, she came back a few more times after the new year and then she was home for the summer just like that.
In the end, it really wasn't bad at all. Best of all i only had to drive there twice! All you have to do is mention the word "bus" and its amazing how fast they can find a ride home! all in all, I hope this can put a little ease to anyone facing this, It truly flew by for me and she even said it did for her also. She even expressed concern that all four years were going to fly by. Well there you have it, you even have to tell the teenagers not to blink! Because yes, it goes by fast. You were just two years old searching for frogs in the backyard, and then I blinked. moral of the story, listen to the elderly or kenny chesney when they say "don't blink".