Let me start by saying, we live in a college town. We feel lucky to be surrounded by several big universities and even small colleges within just a few miles of our front door. Last week, I needed to make a quick trip to Target and it was more crowded than the week before Christmas.
It was college move-in week.
The aisles were full of anxious Moms and Dads (and their stressed-out children.) I was quietly trying to knock out my list, but you couldn’t escape the conversations:
One mom kept trying to put organization bins into her son’s cart. He kept saying, “Mom, I don’t have anything to organize. Stop!”
A dad put a twelve pack of paper towels into his daughter’s already full cart. She said with a sigh, “Dad, I can’t store that many paper towels at one time!”
Every aisle was a version of the same conversation: Well-meaning parents wanting to get their babies comfortable as they left the nest for the first time.
Hanging On An Emotional Thread
Witnessing these tiny interactions, I already had tears in my eyes, then I saw a mom staring at a wall of area rugs. I assume she was shopping for a rug to dress up a drab dorm room. Her daughter was at the end of the aisle looking at picture frames.
I was searching for a new rug pad when she glanced in my direction and said she recognized me from our videos. I was, of course, flattered but I noticed her eyes were red and she looked dazed. I asked if she was okay and she said, “They tell you you’ll be ready for them to leave. But it’s not true. This is so freaking hard.”
She wiped her eyes then forced a big smile before calling out to her daughter, “What about this one?” Her daughter bounced down the aisle never realizing her mom was hanging on by an emotional thread.
Waiting In Line For A Rollercoaster
Our youngest is entering 8th grade and our daughter is now a Junior in high school. This year feels like there is an invisible clock on the wall in our house. You can’t see it, but I can feel it. I can hear the constant tick of time, counting down the days to when these babies leave our nest.
Soon enough, we will be stuffing paper towels and unwanted organizing bins in carts.
Until this point, I’m typically VERY ready for the routine of school to begin. (Let’s face it, by the time August hits we’re all ready to see other people.) I feel like the well-adjusted thing to say is, “I’m so excited for my child’s future” but my anxious mind isn’t that mature. I want to wrap my children in bubble wrap and keep them with me longer than is appropriate.
I know, I know, I know – this serves no one. My rational mind knows this. I feel like I’m waiting in line for a rollercoaster. I can see the scary, wonderful ride play out in front of me, but it’s not quite my turn. As we wait for this wild ride of what awaits us, I’ll do my best to treasure the frantic weekday sports schedule and the rushed mornings.
And to the Moms and Dads returning home after move-in week, I see you and I’m sending you a big, awkward hug.
