Kids are leaving! Not only our own, but all their friends too. Every day/night this past week we have said farewell to someone. I wasn't in the forums today because we delivered our daughter to college. She's a freshman. Two down, one to go. I'm hanging in there. Hope everyone else is doing the same. I"ll be back posting up a storm again tomorrow.

Hi Dotsie! Welcome to "your" life. You'll love it! Just a little tip...stay away from too sentimental music in the beginning...Hubby and I had a hard time with that. But then in a week the world looks brighter.

My youngest daughter left for college early due to marching band practice. Tonight will be her first night home in 2 weeks, and she's staying the weekend. I'm so glad her school is only 90 miles away.

Dotsie, Having no children to leave home, I probably have no way to truly commiserate here. I know it's a bombardment of loss for you, and I can only imagine the pain of feeling those threads of connection stretching farther and farther away from you.

I do have one niece who has been an integral part of my life for the past 18 years. We're very close. As we keep having to postpone this year's family reunion becaue of my brother's cancer, she's just informed us that this year will be her LAST family reunion for awhile. When she finishes high school in June, she's planning on going to China for a few weeks and then to Africa indefinitely to do some missionary work (through her church's missionary agency.) The thought of not having her around at family gatherings and Christmases anymore just rips at my heart! So I have a small inkling of how this empty-nesting feels, albeit at a much smaller scale than a Mother.

All will be well..
Mountain Ash

I've never had one leave for college but two of my sons have moved out. My 21 yr. old lives about 85 miles from us and our 18 year old lives here in town, about 12 miles away. But he is moving to NC on monday! I'm trying so hard not to be devastated and I'm doing a good job so far. I keep telling him that nothing in life is permanent and anytime he wants to come back, he is welcome.

Blue, isn't letting go tough? But it's what we're called to do as mothers. Hopefully he has a cell phone, and/or internet access. It really makes the distance tolerable.And would it be terrible if he saw you a little devastated?

Eagle, you must be so proud of your niece. She's making some pretty darn mature choices for her age.
Hannelore, funny you should mention music. A friend called this morning to see how yesterday went. She told me she thought of me when she heard a man on the radio request a song for his daughter whom he had just dropped off at college. She said they played Lean on Me, and all I could think was why in the world would he do that. Was he trying to make himself cry?

Mountain, I appreciate your simple words. I'll keep repeating them.

dejavu, enjoy having your daughter home this weekend. I'm sure you will.

Better going to college than Iran or some other country where there is no chance of seeing them for quite awhile. Or maybe getting into drugs and disappearing for years and you're niot knowing where they are or even if they are?

Absolutely, Chatty...and better than losing them in a car accident, like the boys in my town.

Maybe I'm too sentimental but I would prefer to think of the kids leaving home as not 'dropping like flys' but 'fluttering away like butterflies'. A much nicer picture in my minds eye, LOL....