Something has happened. Yesterday, I was changing his diaper and today? I'm trying to make sure he is equipped to MOVE OUT OF MY HOUSE! My Sam will come home now...TO VISIT. Wait, what????
My baby is no longer a Senior. But a Freshman.
His "school supply list" just became the "dorm supply list". The other kids in his class just became the roommates who will live with my kid every single night and day. His teammates are strangers to us.
And don’t even get me started on the bills...and the fact that there are only THREE paydays until move-in day.
Perhaps most challenging of it all, these are the last weeks before my baby flies the nest, and it’s quite possible I am experiencing a season of emotional meltdown that rivals postpartum depression.
Here’s a checklist of symptoms in the event I'm not alone.. PLEASE, tell me I'm not alone.
* You torment yourself by starting a mental countdown of the weeks and days until they leave (as if it’s an execution date or something).
* Random things make you burst into tears: their childhood photos, their underwear in the bathroom floor, their dirty cereal bowl left on the counter…the first glance at their tuition bill.
* You get super clingy and follow your kid around the house asking to hang out with them every waking moment of the day.
* You find yourself lurking in the hallway of their bedroom watching them sleep.
* You try to convince your boss that you need time off for Family Medical Leave because you’re paralyzed with grief thinking about your kid leaving for college. (They decline Family Medical Leave, so you ask if Bereavement Leave covers college departure. Because it should, for reals.)
* Your nesting instinct goes into overdrive and you realize you’ve spent more on dorm room essentials than on an entire semester of college room & board.
* You start planning visits and care packages before they’ve even left.
* You are borderline ANGRY when his high school football team can even THINK about playing without him.
* You offer heartfelt hugs in solidarity with random strangers in the check-out aisle at Target upon noticing that they, too, are a weepy-eyed mothers with carts full of color-coordinated hangers, room organizers, hand sanitizer, and obscene amounts of socks and underwear.
* You consider a U-haul truck for the "tax free" weekend and 20% coupon will make it necessary for the loot from your upcoming trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond.
* You "social media stalk" your kid’s college roommate trying to determine if there’s any possibility this space-sharing stranger could be a sex-crazed, kleptomaniac, nocturnal, meth-cooking psychopath with poor hygiene or bad study habits. Even further....you stalk their family. :/
* You lose hours of beauty sleep each night while looking through decades of old photos—including ones from your own college days—and wonder how all of these glorious years went by so fast and you could possibly be this old.
And then you realize the age you somehow thought you still were is the age your kid has now become.
And you begin to embrace the process of truly letting them go.
After all–this season is not about your time that’s ending; it’s about their time that’s just beginning.
So, dear parent–though it may feel like sending them off to college is the final curtain call of parenthood, I promise you that it’s not. In truth, your influence is perhaps going to become even more important during these upcoming years.
Our children are entering into one of the most spiritually and personally formative times in their life, and they’re going to need our wisdom, support and love more than ever.
And once they walk out that door for the real world, they’ll actually seek our advice instead of snarling at it. So grab the Kleenex, pack the boxes, pay the bills, and start planning for all of the ways to stay connected with them while our kids venture into this exciting time.
And keep reminding yourself that for everyone, the best is yet to come.
Yes, this is MY take on a silly list sent to me from a friend today. But its oh, so true. In all honesty....My God has answered prayers for my Sam. He is heading to a wonderful God-loving, Christ-centered environment. He has met the sweetest of friends. He doesn't have a scary roommate. I've reached out to his sweet mom, who may think I am psychotic! lol He will achieve his higher learning, loving the Lord, and playing baseball. His new coach said at our recent signing....
"There are a thousand churches and restaurants and colleges in this little town. Your child will get plenty to eat, a great education, and lots of Jesus!"
Amen.
SO! For the next 17 days.....yes. 1-7. As in 2 weeks and 3 days. I will complete our shopping list, our to-do list, work LOTS of overtime to try to finish fixing his truck so the little darling won't be walking, (donations accepted! ha) and try to teach him ANYTHING I may have forgotten. Makin my lists....and checkin them twice.....
I will love on him. Encourage him. Pray for him. Enjoy him. And remind him to cherish every cotton-pickin moment. He doesn't know it...but its the best years of his life! My cup overflows....
But really...
I'm not ready. I need another year. Please???
Central Baptist College....Here come's my Sam! Take care of him!
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
In Him,
Terri
