On the Mother of Reinvention podcast, my friends Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers (co-hosts of The Mom Hour) have a super-helpful conversation about Meagan's shifts as she approaches her 5 kids' departures. http://meaganfrancis.com/mor-ep39/
Although I am not a parent, I am at place in life where priorities are shifting and I’m evolving. Reading your reflections resonates with me right now. Looking forward to following along. Congratulations on your new project! :-)
This was helpful to read and... I need more :-) Meaning, I don't see myself being nearly as okay with the moment. We're a year away. I cry now. I think about it now. I sense that it will intensify when we actually reach the moment. I don't know how I'll step back into the car, even though I also rationally know that I will need to do it. I need to know how to let that rational side of my brain (I prepared them, they're ready for this, it will be good for them) can be louder than the emotional side of my brain.
Various circumstances (I now see him every few weeks and so likely will see him every month or two, we'll still be in the same city), I've been feeling like it's NBD. But reading this (helpfully!) reminded me that it IS still a big deal — the moving out on his own, yes, but also the BIG TRANSITION that hasn't happened since he started high school! I mostly LOVED my university experience and found it very profound. Thanks for reminding me to stop and take notice and pay attention.
We just did our first college drop-off this weekend, and it was a bit of a struggle, compounded by the fact that my wife and I got COVID the week before and had just recovered by the weekend, delaying the move by an extra day just to wait for negative test results.
The hardest part for us is that, sometime in the gap year between applying for college and actually moving in, our daughter lost pretty much all enthusiasm for her chosen school and was not at all eager to go, with a lot of worries (some real, some exaggerated, some imaginary). It felt like I wasn't able to process and express my own mix of emotions because she would latch onto anything negative as yet another reason to worry, and so we had to work hard to sell her on this college experience that she had chosen for herself. It was a weird experience, and I'm still processing.
The Drop-Off archive at Grown & Flown is a goldmine. https://grownandflown.com/category/off-to-college/drop-off/
On the Mother of Reinvention podcast, my friends Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers (co-hosts of The Mom Hour) have a super-helpful conversation about Meagan's shifts as she approaches her 5 kids' departures. http://meaganfrancis.com/mor-ep39/
This was what I said on Instagram a few days before we dropped my daughter off... https://www.instagram.com/p/CTBEdiDPFiS/
Oof all the feels! I will cherish these next 10ish years with A&J! Also, Ikea duffel bags - so handy!
The humbling NEVER ends!
Although I am not a parent, I am at place in life where priorities are shifting and I’m evolving. Reading your reflections resonates with me right now. Looking forward to following along. Congratulations on your new project! :-)
This was helpful to read and... I need more :-) Meaning, I don't see myself being nearly as okay with the moment. We're a year away. I cry now. I think about it now. I sense that it will intensify when we actually reach the moment. I don't know how I'll step back into the car, even though I also rationally know that I will need to do it. I need to know how to let that rational side of my brain (I prepared them, they're ready for this, it will be good for them) can be louder than the emotional side of my brain.
Various circumstances (I now see him every few weeks and so likely will see him every month or two, we'll still be in the same city), I've been feeling like it's NBD. But reading this (helpfully!) reminded me that it IS still a big deal — the moving out on his own, yes, but also the BIG TRANSITION that hasn't happened since he started high school! I mostly LOVED my university experience and found it very profound. Thanks for reminding me to stop and take notice and pay attention.
"How to let go of your irreplaceable, unstoppable daughter,", from one of my favorites, Kelly Corrigan. (NYT gift link) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/05/opinion/parenting-college-empty-nest-pandemic.html?unlocked_article_code=-OsQBgC7PSTOojGMymI9UggA5KWg2dqAZFSEUMLd4azq6rKtil2g3hUKvfXtfvc6mB1KssNNjjHy9BjiHpHaNCGxOZbiWOsxQn5X94ZnvAQE4lYb1JAIvtE4x6xADDL0I38kNJzZ0Tayq38Gt0vxPttQJIZSf7vM4QxQcKl5vPFaa9zKVgVIB1FZmQ9ESPxp69sPakScSwimcZqPwGAPjtj6740cPWQFyG1AQPru7Z3ASjNRFZ_T9YuaH6QJ20K2Wjqj7OpDIdMg8aL2i854OtimIGDD-H7OVYdsJgDPHK4boE9rXd_WSPGf3kXUSSMfd0z-mbXFuaCKMqOBH_7tqB2RO185O6oOagMM1pNk6Q&smid=share-url
We just did our first college drop-off this weekend, and it was a bit of a struggle, compounded by the fact that my wife and I got COVID the week before and had just recovered by the weekend, delaying the move by an extra day just to wait for negative test results.
The hardest part for us is that, sometime in the gap year between applying for college and actually moving in, our daughter lost pretty much all enthusiasm for her chosen school and was not at all eager to go, with a lot of worries (some real, some exaggerated, some imaginary). It felt like I wasn't able to process and express my own mix of emotions because she would latch onto anything negative as yet another reason to worry, and so we had to work hard to sell her on this college experience that she had chosen for herself. It was a weird experience, and I'm still processing.