Right now, I'm a basket case!

[t-bob]

I know many of you have been through this. And quite a few of you haven't had the blessing of close to 19 years with their sons/daughters.
I don't care, being a little selfish... We're driving our son to college on Wednesday and at this moment, I can hardly keep my act together.
Not very dry eyed here.
I know that this will pass. Time for The Serenity Prayer.

[Supertramp78]

We got through all that by focusing on all the fun and exciting and educational (we hoped) experiences that he was about to have. Instead of being sad and dwelling on how much we were going to miss him (Skype helped a LOT in that regard), we just thought about him and his new experiences.

[Deleted]

Be selfish. My twins are 9, and the day they go off to college will break my heart.

Hang in there man,

Paul

[Fingerplucked]

Tbob, maybe you're not looking at it right. Of course you're sad that your boy is moving out of the house and off to college. He's going to leave a great big void behind. But there's no law that says you can't move into his dorm with him.

See? Everybody wins.

[t-bob]

Aug 17, 2009 16:44:02 GMT -5 Fingerplucked said:

Tbob, maybe you're not looking at it right. Of course you're sad that your boy is moving out of the house and off to college. He's going to leave a great big void behind. But there's no law that says you can't move into his dorm with him.

See? Everybody wins.

That's a good one. I'll talk to him about it.

[Cornflake]

Best wishes, Tbob. I remember it well. Kids have to leave home but I never did find a bright side to it.

[patrick]

Aug 17, 2009 16:44:02 GMT -5 Fingerplucked said:

Tbob, maybe you're not looking at it right. Of course you're sad that your boy is moving out of the house and off to college. He's going to leave a great big void behind.

And that great big void could be filled by a .......GUITAR ROOM!

Don't think of it as losing a son, think of it as gaining a spare room.

[AlanC]

Luckily for us, she agreed that USM, a mere hour away, was her best bet- and they gave her a much bigger scholarship than the others. So we moved her in Sat. but will see her tonight and next weekend, etc.

[Deleted]

It's a tough one, Bob. I recall crying on the airplane coming back from Philly. Wierd, indeed. I didn't cry at much else in this life, including a lot of death and human ruin. But, that freakin' SEAT next to my on the plane was just so gaddamn empty.

I KNOW THE FEELING, Bob. Then, there's a few days after you are back home, when you look in his room, or look up because you think he's coming up the stairs. Grief without a death (or even tragedy), though, is short-lived, and quickly replaced with paying for college. Hang in there, it'll feel good, soon.

[Dan McLaughlin]

TBob, I know how you feel. We are driving Lindsay to SUNY Fredonia on Saturday for her freshman year. About an hour and 20 minutes away, but still...

[omaha]

I remember dropping Sarah off at the College of St Catherine for the first time a few years ago. Not easy stuff.

[Marshall]

I didn't have boys. And the girls didn't have a heck of a lot to do with me the last year or so of HS. So, college was OK. In fact i was kinda proud of their achievments and success and possibiliieis.

I get along very well with them now that they're grown and married and full fledged members of society. We have a very nice relationship now. Better'n before.

So there's hope.

And someday grandchildren.

[sekhmet]

What lucky kids you guys have!

Anyway, practice crying when they leave home. I cry every time she leaves.

[omaha]

I will say this. Dropping Sarah off at college was easier than dropping her off at her first day of Kindergarten.

[Tamarack]

Hang in there Bob. May the grief be soon replaced by pride.

[Greg B]

I feel that way about Sean leaving and he's not even my son. I've been sad/proud/happy all weekend.

I so understand how your feeling right now, and your emotions must be many times what I feel.

If I knew how to feel better about it I'd sure tell you. So instead, I'll have a beer tonight and toast all the kids who are going off to start that next stage of their lives. May they stay safe, may they continue to make us proud, and may they all know how much we love them.

[Village Idiot]

Aug 17, 2009 18:50:13 GMT -5 @omaha said:

I will say this. Dropping Sarah off at college was easier than dropping her off at her first day of Kindergarten.

I can agree with that. When Taylor's first day of kindergarten ended I couldn't find her and wound up calling the police. Turns out she did the right thing and I didn't, she was waiting patiently where she was supposed to be.

Our oldest maintains our house in town, so we havent' faced any of this yet. People complain around here that kids move out and never come back. Our kid just might stick around. If that situation carries her well, that's fine with us.

[dradtke]

The jealousy of all the fun cool experiences Damien was going to have helped temper grief when we dropped him off in Chicago last year. The other two live close by so it's not as bad. Mostly I finally understood what my mom felt when she left me at school (I was the last one, so the house was empty after me)

[t-bob]

Thanks for all your support, folks. Just went downstairs to turn off his light he always leaves on when he goes to sleep, and got a "thank you" and a smile. He's a great "kid", and will continue to be, just not here anymore. He'll be back at Thanksgiving and Christmas, not that far down the road.

[Marshall]

Yeah. Best to you Bob.

Changes are tough.