So, imagine the pride I felt when my child was accepted to all the schools she applied to, it was magical. She was excited and I was proud beyond the boundaries of pride. I was proud that she got accepted to the places that she selected but I was even more of the meticulous process she went through in search of the right collegiate fit. I watched her identify things about herself. She wanted a smaller school. She did not want to be in a big city. Must be coed and socially diverse and so on the list went. The most important thing about any selected school? MUST HAVE HORSES. She then declared that she had found her school. A beautiful school, nestled in a town that would rival any Rockwell painting or Currier and Ives tin. A mere four hour drive. Not around the corner but manageable and doable by all accounts. There was a school that she applied to, mainly because they invited her to apply. She felt like "why not?" AND GUESS WHAT???? She gets in, they invite her to visit, she does and my four hours turns into 10.
So, as the time got closer she began her college countdown, and I began my dread. Ten hours away the first time you go away??? Who does that? I guess the answer is well adjusted kids with supportive parents. So fast forward to road trip day. Six hundred miles of driving not counting the pitstop in Queens to fetch Gramma. The trip down is uneventful and to be perfectly honest--positively beautiful. Shout out to the entire state of West Virginia for the 70mph speed limit. We had breakfast at Denny's and I watched the road while my passengers comtemplated the insides of their eyelids. Somewhere around Roanoke the gravity of the day hit me. I have packed up my daughter, her belongings and an overnight bag and I will be leaving two of the three in another state. WOW. I have reached the day that parents long for. All I can think of is how long and lonely the ride back is going to be.
I guess bringing the preschooler along was a good idea after all. We reach our destination and the crowd goes wild. I go to the bathroom because this is where I need a moment. As a mother, you long for the time when your child completes their education and heads off to college--and then it arrives. All this preparation, goal setting, tending the crops and it comes to one instant. It wasn't until we unpacked the car at the hotel that it hit me. This is the moment of her life--and the turning point of mine. My momming is just extra now not essential. She is on the road to her own experiences and in a way I am on the road to mine.
I won't even get into the feeling of being turned inside out for cash and needing to find every document ever printed pertaining to this child from birth to present day. I won't even get into the little moments of my mother asking 50 questions, the body wash theft or other such memorable moments. She is settled in and I am unsettled. It's the Newton's Principle--for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I am going to settle in and start the process all over.
It's a beautiful time for all of us. I think so and what?
