In 1993 when my first son was born I received a gift from a friend who was a new mom herself. It was a book called "What To Expect When You Are Expecting". If you are a mom surely you know this book. The series continues with "What To Expect In the First Year" and then "What To Expect The Toddler Years". So imagine my surprise when I looked for "What To Expect When Your Child Goes To College". Guess what? The book doesn't exist.
I sure could have used a book this last August when I dropped my newborn baby from 1993 off to college. I don't think I expected anything except for one thing....lots and lots of tears.
It's funny. During the drive back home after leaving him I thought a lot back to when my parents dropped me off at college. I was so excited and happy and joyful at what lay ahead. A new chapter in my life. I couldn't understand when my Dad divulged to me that my Mom cried the entire drive home. It seemed odd to me. After all, I was very happy so why was she so sad. I think that's when it dawned on me that her sadness wasn't about me but about her. I suddenly became my Mom. That Mom. Every Mom who drops her child off at school.
My tears weren't about him. They were about me and how much I would miss him and how much I would love to still be holding him in my arms and feeding him his bottle and watching him make cute little faces with his chubby cheeks. When people ask me about him and how he is doing up at college I always tell them how much he likes it there. And then I tell them how much I miss him. And then I cry.
2 comments:
:(. Maybe that's your calling. To write that book. Just a thought. You've got such a way of writing from the heart it might help other moms who will one day need to knOw "what to expect".
now I'm tearing up! Watching your children transform into their future adult self is both exciting and bittersweet. When they turn out as great as your kids are though, I hope you can pat yourself on the back a little bit!!
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