Our youngest left yesterday morning for her second year of college. It was very different from last year this time when our baby was going off to college for the first time. There is less unknown, less worry, less weeping. Being away at school was very good for her. She was ready for it and she thrived in that environment. That made it easier for us to let go this year when she left. She seemed very much a high school student this time last year and now she’s a young woman. How much of that is a change in her and how much is a change in our perspective, I have no idea. I’m just happy to see it.
Of course it didn’t stop me from drawing cards for her year ahead. A quick overview of sophomore year.
Bright and hopeful yet at the same time balanced and grounded and ready for the next adventure.
This school year does feel very different for me too. It took me awhile to get used to having no children to care for. I know, she was a high school senior, but I had to be available for her now and then. With her physically gone from the house, and taking care of herself elsewhere, I was freed up to focus on my own stuff uninterrupted. It took some getting used to. When she came home for the summer it was a different adjustment. Things got put on hold simply because there were more people in the house and I couldn’t take over as much space as I needed for some projects. Knowing she was leaving had me planning which of these things I was going to dive back into.
That surprised me a bit.
Then I thought about it and realized that I have let her go.
You’re not ever really done being a parent but the relationship shifts as the kids get older. She is and always will be my baby girl but she is her own person more and more each day. It’s wonderful to witness.