One week later

Hello all, I thought I'd give the "one week later" update of taking your kid to college.

Ten days after I first dropped Amanda to her university in Springfield, Ohio, I returned. This time with Bob and Aidan, for official move in day. (I am contemplating the privilege it is, to be able to do this, to take a 1,200 mile trip twice in two weeks to send off our daughter to a fancy college. I have no vacation time left for the next nine months, but still.)

So, one week after the gnashing and wailing (mine), this is how our final good bye went today, day one of new student orientation. (Lest this be confusing, last week was cheer camp. And now that Bob and I have turned into cheerleader advocates, we made a point to meet the athletic director yesterday and let him know how important the cheer program is to us, and thus how the administration should lift it to greater attention, instead of keeping it on its usual low-rungs of hierarchical status. We had planned to do the same with the university president, at the late afternoon president's reception, but opted for an outing to a local Mexican restaurant instead. It had a gorgeous stone water fountain right in the middle of the dining room, indoors, under a full roof. It was cool and made me wish I was in Mexico, but a huge digression.)

This morning, one week after gnashing and wailing (mine), the last goodbye to Amanda took 30, maybe 45 seconds. I didn't even come close to crying, even though it was raining again. While the menfolk took care of hotel room matters, I had delivered the remaining goods to Amanda, meeting her at the back of her dorm complex, officially called New Hall.

"Thanks mom, I gotta go," she said, poking her head out the heavy back door of the hall. She took the last bit of stuff I brought her (hummus and her physical form) then had to rush back to her room to prepare for the class picture and full day of orientation sessions. It worked out because I had to rush back to prepare for yet another 10 hour drive.

So, I guess today I'm thinking about all the parents and the students who are saying goodbye, who are transitioning into their new-normals. To the students starting school whether it be kindergarten, middle school, sleep away school, or community college. I'm thinking of you all, wishing you well. I'm amazed at how even-keeled I feel this week, given how crazy confused I was last week.

As far as me, this is my new normal. (I find that phrase distasteful and have already used it twice. The scourge of blogging - no time to edit and refine.) Now, I am outnumbered with my roommates and thus watched "The Terminator" last night in the hotel room. Back home, the house has remained unusually orderly this past week. Less socks have disappeared from my drawer.

There is a deepened sense that this is right, that the kid has been dropped on fertile land. Fertile, fertile land. And there's nothing else we can do except exhale and move on.

And sign up for family weekend. And research thanksgiving airfare.

I'll sign off with some of the advise we all heard at the move-in day ceremony at Wittenberg University yesterday:

- serve others
- stay human
- be kind

(Paraphrased.)

Thanks for coming over to my blog.

With love from yours truly,

Natural Born Bleeding Heart