That's freshman year. By the time they're, say, juniors, you kind of finding yourself counting the days until summer vacation is over and you can send them back to college, even if you feel a lump forming in your throat the night before they go and shed a tear or two after you drop them off. Here's my somewhat feeble attempt to find the thankfuls in his leaving:
1. Most (but not all) of the stuff he brought home in May and PROMISED to take to his room before Memorial Day weekend is now out of my house and in his new apartment.
2. We will all have enough hot water for our showers.
3. Ruby can nap in peace without threat of him swooping her up and forcing her to be carried against her will.
4. He and his sister won't be fighting over the car anymore (which is kind of funny, really, since we have crappy cars and they're fighting not over who gets the good car, but who gets the LEAST crappy car).
5. We won't have to hear the old bowling pin he uses to prop his door open (old house, nothing plumb) fall over onto the hardwood floor when he trips over it.
6. Our salsa bill will plummet.
7. Actually, our entire grocery bill will plummet.
8. We'll be able to see the top of the little table in the entry hall where he piles his stuff when he comes in the door.
9. Pasta can go back on the menu, since he won't eat it.
10. He's halfway through with his undergraduate degree!
I'm not going to think about how I'm going to miss talking with him, his bear hugs and shoulder rubs, his laugh, even those size 15 shoes in the middle of the floor.
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| For the record, he does NOT go to Arkansas; it was a free shirt. |
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ReplyDeleteThanks! Got lots of homesick texts last night.
ReplyDeleteisnt it funny to say "in his apartment"? My kiddo has been out of house for a long time now and still cant get used to it when he leaves after a visit. He and his wife are coming this weekend... ask me Monday.
ReplyDeleteI want to call it his dorm room, but it really isn't. It's an apartment, although it's on the campus and is part of university housing. Kind of a halfway house for the dorm to apartment transition.
DeleteLooking forward to hearing about your visit this week!
Size 15 shoes?!?!?! Impressive....and I am assuming maybe hard to find?! All that extra stuff has a way of lingering in the mudroom--and the hall--and the living room all summer, doesn't it?!
ReplyDeleteCan not believe our guys are half way done! Time (and our cash) sure have flown!
Sometimes, Academy has some size 15s, but for anything besides a Nike tennis shoe, it has to be ordered. As my mom says, his feet look like bed slats. He still has piles of stuff that didn't get taken to school, but it's better. And halfway already! Didn't they just start yesterday?!
DeleteAwww!!! I can well imagine the day when my oldest will leave! He goes to middle school this year!
ReplyDeleteSize 15 shoes!!! :O
It happens fast, Roshni! Those 4 years of high school flew by. And yes, size 15. You have no idea.
DeleteAww...
ReplyDeleteSalsa bill going down? That's so funny. Why won't he eat pasta?
OK, now I want pasta...
He is SUCH a picky eater that I will indulge him in GALLONS of salsa now that he has learned to eat it and it at least has vegetables in it! He has never liked pasta. Texture issue.
DeleteLove the theme for your TToT this week.
ReplyDeleteNot many young men I know who won't eat pasta, but glad your grocery bill can go down, even as hard as having time not stand still in life can sometimes be.
He has always had some kind of texture issue with pasta. The only kind he will eat is mac and cheese, and only under certain conditions. I worry about our local Little Caesar's Pizza going out of business every fall when he goes back to school for lack of business!
Deletewhew i am so glad you cleared up the Arkansas thing - i was worried ( nah I have nothing against Arkansas)
ReplyDeleteSending them away ...hmmm well at least you have your house back - its tough i'm having a hard time i have two young teens bigger and much smarter than me (well if you ask them I know nothing, LOL)
By the way the size 15 shoes got me nervous; James is 14 and is wearing 8 or 9 #imlivingwithgiants
hang in there at least Ruby is there for you!
:)
Now, had Arkansas offered him as much money as Missouri State to go there, he would, indeed, be a Razorback :)
DeleteMy son is definitely a Mr. Know It All. Occasionally, though, there are glimmers of hope that he is realizing that his dad and I DO know a few things. A very few....
Size 8 or 9 at 14 is nothing to worry about. Kyle wore a 14 by the time he was 14!
Ruby is my bae!
Way to get Frist post. ;)
ReplyDeleteHe's sending you homesick texts? Aw, so sweet. I'm guessing they will end soon. At least the homesick part?
Nice work finding the positives.
I sacrificed quality for speed.
DeleteHe's a real homebody. He texts me every day, home or away.
It takes a couple of weeks or so to get used to him being gone and not wondering when he's going to get home and the like.
I understand the sentiment, Dyanne, and I guess there's both good and bad to them being around! But I'll say this....you're a fantastic mum.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle! I appreciate it so much!
DeleteHaving experienced the chaos of a launched chick returning to the nest, I really appreciate what you're saying about the stuff and the food!
ReplyDeleteOn grocery day we can barely cram the food in to put it away and then by mid-week we're looking at bare shelves.
It's going to be even worse when he comes home next spring, because he's living in a furnished apartment this year and is now in the process of accruing some kitchen and household items for it. I'm going to have to get a bigger house.
DeleteI came home one day early in the summer after shopping at 3 different stores with $300 of groceries. I laid all the bags in the kitchen floor and on the counters and called my family in to see what $300 worth of groceries looked like and to remind them they needed to make it last a couple of weeks and not eat everything the first two days. You know what happened, of course.
I know exactly what happened next - your fridge was bare 3 days later.
DeleteWhen Matt came back, we just boxed up the kitchen stuff and stored it for the next time he moves out. Which to hear him talk will be never. Not that I'm in any big hurry either, for sure not when I'm looking at property that has a crap ton of grass to cut!
I remember going back to college for my Junior year! (well, sort of... it was a while ago, but the life changes do move along... at the only speed it has, which I suspect is different depending who you are in the change...)
ReplyDeleteWise words, Clark. And so very, very accurate.
DeleteI can only imagine how hard this is on you, but I like how you powered through and found some thankfuls. Even if they were somewhat ironic ones. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know it's the right thing for them to do, but it's still hard!
DeleteWhat a handsome and wonderful looking kid! I love your list and cracked up several times at your thankfuls: Ruby, the cars and the bowling pin were some of the times I laughed loud. You are a special mother and I am sending you lots of hugs!
ReplyDeletejean
Thank you, Jean! That damn bowling pin has been falling over for about 12 years now!
DeleteSo very sweet. I hope he has a wonderful year and takes advantage of all the good things college has to offer.
ReplyDeleteThank you! From your lips to God's ears!
DeleteAww sniff. More salsa for you!
ReplyDeleteIs there anything worse than reaching into the fridge for the salsa, only to find there is only about a tablespoon left in the bottom of the jar? I mean, really.
DeleteWhile I don't have to worry about size 15 shoes, and my youngest son is minimalist in his possessions, and he eats pasta, I can certainly relate to your emotions. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristi! He nests.
DeleteDyanne, this really tugged at my heart. My son is married and has been out of the house for a few years, but I miss the hugs, the interaction with his sister and (well, maybe not) the shoes all over the place. You'll get adjusted to him being gone and BING he'll be back in December, along with all his stuff all over again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words, Val! It definitely has gotten easier than that first year, but he takes a piece of my heart with him every time he goes!
DeleteI can so relate! Enjoy these upsides of the empty nest.
ReplyDeleteFocusing on the upsides makes it easier when I walk by him bedroom!
DeleteI enjoyed reading your comments so much, and I can certainly relate. My husband used to say as one by one the kids went off to college, how we gained a piece of furniture too, one that wasn't occupied by books, clothes, etc.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and yes, your husband is exactly right!
Delete