When Kids Return to College, A Mom’s Perspective
(Updated 1-9-19)
My kids are very adept at packing. I raised them to be organized and due to divorce, they’ve had to pack.
From a learning perspective, it’s been been a positive experience. They learned at young ages and became independent packers daily for school and any event.
Now at 19 and 22, it’s packing for college to home to college; equestrian competitions; internships; music festivals around the country: European trips; sleep overs to fishing; to organizing their own apartments.
How organized are they? Well, they are different, in interesting ways and reasons, but they get the job done.
My son’s girlfriend considers organization as “an important trait and a reason she’s been successful in college.” She’s considering it as a side business.
Both of my children can pack in under ten minutes yet their styles are completely different. My daughter can pack for a team of 12 horses and riders.
My son laughed out loud when I mentioned my observations, watching each pack and leave at different times. From day one, he has the best laugh!
It’s a roller coaster of emotions when they come back and forth from school and I watch them come and go.
Each time, which is only a matter of a few months, they individually grow and change. I change. The pets change (two dogs, three cats and a bird when they’re all here).
Even the house changes. It’s clean with a quiet environment for work and life. In less than five minutes it’s filled with sports, DJ sounds of a mixing board to notes of a piano that fill the air, and the staircase steps fill with shoes. Most of the pets end up in my room.
They leave, and in an instant the one dog who permanently lives here is passed out on my feet. I totally understand how she’s feeling at these moments and she’s feeling my vibes.
When I look down at her, I realize I need a pedicure. I’m exhausted from a family medical emergency, juggling a completely full holiday break with no attention to myself. I neglected myself. That is a huge no-no for a happy life.
I realize that understanding change and embedding this in your soul is the best way to keep your balance.
Kids leaving the roost is a huge change. It starts as “empty nesting,” but then frees you to be whoever you want to be now. It frees you for pedicures any time you can treat yourself.
I’m not a fan of change. A lot of meditation has helped me delve into my fears of change. I’m grateful for the tools I learned through guided meditation. They are liberating and help me be the best mom I can be, always and forever. I learned that change bonds us together so I can let them free.
People obviously cope with changes, big and small, in different ways. I finally comprehend that you must keep growing, then change will be delightfully freshening and surprising. “There is nothing so stable as change.” ©️
#emptynesting #collegekids #packing #change #copingskills #blessings #intuitiveanimals #lovemykids #understandingchange
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