Taking my baby boy to college was much different than I thought it would be...and let me tell you why. As we talked over all the logistics and measured Helmut's humongous computer tower, we decided a road trip with a minivan full of stuff was going to be much easier than flying up to school. Sarah and Madison gladly signed on for the "best road trip ever". Don't get me wrong, the road trip part was tons of fun, just as I thought it would be. We stopped and bought snacks whenever we wanted. We talked and talked and laughed and laughed. The freshman caught up on some sleep. We compared Google Maps to Apple Maps to the good ol' Atlas. We stopped at ALL the state borders and took a picture at each and every one (not sure Madison and Little Helmut would say this was "fun", per se). We kept track of the awesome mileage we were getting and the amazing time we were making. And we arrived plenty early to make sure our kiddos got to choose their preferred bed.
My parents were gracious enough to put us up, make us yummy homemade food, schlep the kids' stuff all over campus and follow us around endlessly. Thanks, Mom and Dad! You're the best!
Early Wednesday morning, we drove down to campus to start the process. We had a full list of "to dos". Get their student IDs. Pick up their text books. Pick up some school supplies. Buy their game day t-shirts. And check into their dorms. Then the real work began...moving into the dorm. It wasn't just the moving in the boxes that was so tiring. It was also the unpacking of the boxes and suitcases and then figuring out how to fit all that stuff in that tiny dorm room. This required lots of trips to Target and a nice chunk of change to buy "organizing stuff". I thought my mind would explode if I had to scoure the aisles for one more hard-to-find item (can I get a compact mirror already?? Sheesh). But, we did indeed get all his stuff to fit into his dorm room. And it looked fairly homey in my humble opinion. It was a relief to me as his mother to feel like he would be comfortable in this space for the next year as he started living life on his own.
Then the actual Freshman Orientation events began and the kids were off at one meeting or another. Sarah and I just kind of spent our time hanging out. We would have an hour here or there on our own and then be summonded to pick a kid up here or drop one off there. But I didn't mind, this is what I had driven all that way to do. Spend some last few precious minutes with my boy and make sure I was there when he needed me. And to be honest, there were a few times he seemed pretty overwhelmed by the whole process. It seemed to be a lot for him to digest and the culmination of so many decisions he had made over the last few years. As it all came together in a couple of days, I could see him second guessing some of his decisions or nervous about the outcomes. Would he be happy with them or would he regret them? I did my best to be supportive and encourage him to work through all his anxiety in a productive way.
But then it was over! The dorm room was complete. Freshman Orientation was winding down. It was time for Sarah and I to start the long drive home. And time to say goodbye. Actually, we had a few hours left before we HAD to say goodbye, but Helmut was anxious to spend time with some of his new friends. And I hated to be the old naggy mom that just kept hanging on. So I let him go. I met him in the parking lot of the Museum of Art and said goodbye. Just a hug and he was gone. I watched him walk away from inside my car. And that was it. After 18+ years of raising this boy, all I could do was watch him walk away (and hope I had done all I needed to get him ready for what lay ahead of him). But guess what, no tears were shed. He was so eager and ready to go, I didn't feel like tears were necessary. I was just happy and excited for him and all the fun adventures I knew he had coming his way. In fact, the first time I have shed any tears over the whole process was right now writing it down.
Here are a few pics of his dorm room:
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