11 More Days!

Its finally sinking in.  In  exactly 11 days I will be taking my son to college.  I can’t believe it.  I mean, I knew it was coming, but I thought I had more time.  I have been preparing myself mentally for it.  But now that it is so close, I’m not ready.  I know that this feeling is selfish, but I am not yet ready to let my son go.

They say that a sign of good parenting is knowing that you raised a child who is not afraid to go out into the world.  If that is true, then my ex and I must have been exceptional parents.  My son is more than ready to go off to college.  In fact, he has been telling me all summer long that he is ready to go.  Even my daughter proclaimed the summer before her freshman year of high school that she couldn’t wait to leave.  I can’t blame them.  I was the same way myself when I was their age.  But now, being the parent who is about to let her firstborn child go out into the world, its scary.  It would be so much easier if he would just stay home.  Well, it would be easier for me.  He would hate it. 

As much as I am going to miss my son, I know that college is going to be a great experience for him.  He will meet lots of people, make new friends, and enjoy new experiences.  All this is wonderful, but I can’t help but feel a sense of loss.  There are some things that I will miss when he leaves ...

• I will miss my son telling me about his day when I come home from work. 
• I will miss how my son goes off on tangents when he tells me stories.  That normally would drive me crazy!  I have to redirect him all the time, and remind him to finish one story before he starts another.
• I will miss having my movie buddy.  Don’t get me wrong, my daughter will occasionally go to a movie with me, but she will easily change her mind and go see a movie that we were suppose to see together with her friends if she has the option.  Unless, of course, she has no money and wants me to pay for it.  Not my son.  As soon as a new Marvel movie is previewed, he will text me about it and put me on notice that we have to go see it.  Also, he will see a movie with me over seeing it with his friends.  But, now that I think about it, I wonder if its because he knows that I will pay for him to see it?
•  I will miss leaving work and rushing to my son’s basketball games.  I LOVED watching my son and his friends play basketball.  I LOVED cheering for all of them.  It was at those games that the “Mommy” bond was created with other moms.  Now, instead of basketball games, we will meet for drinks after work.  I can live with that.
• I will miss his random hugs.
• I will miss his kisses on the cheeks and the “I love you Mommy.”
• I will miss his height.  My son is 6 feet tall.  I am 5'2'.  His height comes in handy when I need to get something off of the top shelf.
•  I will miss his sense of humor.  While he thinks he is a comedian, he is not.  But every now and again, he gets it right!

Well, in 11 days, things are going to change.  Its going to happen to me and some day, it will happen to you.  There’s nothing we can do about it.  We can only accept and roll with it. 

So, now you know and you can ... Consider Yourself Warned!

Parents, when your child went away to college or moved out of your home, what did you miss the most?