Nesting again now that she's gone

For a few years, I have been watching friends say good bye to their kids and send them off to college. Then the weirdest thing would happen, the makeovers began. Rooms were redone, landscapes were refreshed, exteriors of the homes changed. What was going on? Well, it is happening to me!

We are currently in the process of having a custom cabinet built for the kitchen. Once that is in, we plan to install granite countertops. I have a landscaper coming in the morning to take a look at the front beds. They have been in need of an update for about 5 years. I am finally getting around to it. After that, I might move back inside to replace the 18 year old bedroom carpeting.

As a group of us sat at breakfast and discussed all the changes that we were all making, I implored "what's going on?" "Nesting," replied a friend. And here I thought that that was something that ended when the babies arrived. Apparently not. This is the new nesting. The reclaiming of our territory. Sudden;y, there are a few extra moments in the day and in the week. All the things that we had been thinking about, we have time to actually explore.

As I begin to adjust to my new daily routine, I am excited about what I might be able to cross off the to do list. Fortunately, the internet will give me plenty of ideas. :)

Tryouts are over

The first three weeks have been stressful. If it wasn't enough that she had to adjust to anew place to live, a roommate, and new courses,during this time she has been put through a set of tryout criteria for the swim team. Now she new about this before she left for school. She even knew all that she was required to do. That doesn't mean that she was ready for it. She's never lifted before, yet she had at least three different skills that she was required to do. The lat pull consisting of 75% of her weight wasn't meant to be. She did make the bench press, but that only required her to press 50% of her weight.

During this time, the coach continued to hang over everyone's head that he would be cutting swimmers that weren't making the grade. Really?! She is there on a swimming scholarship! Is he really going to cut kids lose. Day after day we were getting the updates, from both our daughter and the coach, as to the progress of the swimmers. My husband and I weren't always sure how to handle her ups and downs. We didn't want to make her over confident but we wanted to encourage to hang inthere. We wanted to reassure her that everything would be ok. But what if it wasn't? What if the coach was planning on letting half of the swimmers go?

In the end, the coach decided to keep all the swimmers, but they can't complete until they have met a certain standard. She has a few more things to complete before she can compete,but at least she knows that she is part of the team. See the link to the right to see her official team bio!

The First Skype

A week after she started college, we arranged a skyping time. There had been some texting each day but nothing was going to compare to seeing her and actually talk with her. That's what I thought anyway.

When we connected there she was, but she looked like she was in the local booking station. She was against a concrete cinder block wall. She looked tired and frazzled. We were so excited to talk with her. There wasn't a conversation  though. It was more like an interrogation. She dutifully answered what we asked her but it was clear that she wasn't really in a mode to talk. We wrapped up sooner than I would have liked to. After we hung up, my husband and I both agreed that we didn't feel any better. In fact, we were more concerned than before we talked with her. Didn't she know we were looking for her to be bubbly and full of information about how much she liked her classes, her team, her roommate, her weekends...

Over the next few days, her texts were everything that we wanted from the skype. Our concerns evaporated. The plans for skyping again are on hold. That probably works well for us both.

Off She Goes!

Well this day finally came. How 18 years has already gone by is beyond me. We had packed the car the night before. Thank goodness we have a mini van and don't need the 3rd row. The van was stuffed with all her must haves with just enough room for the 4 of us to fit in. We had a 6 plus hour ride ahead of us depending on the traffic. By 8 o'clock we were on our way!

As we made our way south, I began to reminisce about my little girl. Where had all the time gone? I still remember her first day of kindergarten. She was so excited! She hopped on the bus, gave us a big wave, took her seat, and off she went. It was me and her brother that were left teary eyed. Fast forward 18 years. Will tomorrow's parting be the same. Will she be so excited that she leaves us easily and we are again left teary eyed?

About the time we hit the Garden State Parkway, I started going through the motherly advice that I had given her. Always walk with a buddy, never leave a drink unattended, try new things, make use of the career counseling center on campus...and the list went on. But wait, what if I forgot something? How would she know what to do?

The actual move-in day went by in a flash. She was in line by 8:45 am waiting to register. By 1 she was unpacked and we were headed to lunch. At 2 she was off to a meeting and we had our own meeting at 3:30. Suddenly it was 5:15 and it was time to say goodbye. Oh no, I don't think I can do this. I'm not ready. I had no choice though and could not delay. She needed to go eat before she had a floor meeting at 6. What to say, what words of wisdom to give her? In the end, it was a long hug with few words exchanged. We rode down in the elevator with her and her roommate. And just like kindergarten, away she went smiling and excited and I was left a little teary eyed.