Are We Ready?

At the Household of No, we are less than two weeks away from The Departure. The Teenager, who is now The College Student, is starting to get her things together for Residence Hall move-in day.  I'm waiting for August 1, when I will be sending a large payment to an institution of higher education.  The Son of Never Stops Eating is no doubt in late-stage development with his evil plans for the takeover of The College Student's real estate. I've explained to him that although I know he covets that space, it's spoken for; however, he is an optimistic thinker with a strong desire for a personal Lego Studio.

I thought maybe I was ready for all this to happen, but a few weeks ago The College Student announced that she and two of her besties were planning a road trip, and she wanted to know if it was okay with us. They had even drawn out a detailed itinerary and a list of expenses; any one of them would probably make a fine project manager in a few years.

Ummm, sure, I said.  It sounds like fun.  What my Mom Brain was saying (ok, screaming) was "No! I don't want you to go! Stay here where I can see you! There are crazy people out there!". My imagination started to work overtime on all the "What could possibly go wrong" scenarios at which it excels, particularly when the offspring are involved. It occurred to me that in less than a month she was going to be several hundred miles away from home doing whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to do it, and I wouldn't even know, unless funding was requested at some point from the Bank of Mom.  I was prepared for people to say "What? Are you crazy?" or tell me that I was being an irresponsible parent, but no one did.  Mostly people said "Wow, that sounds like fun!" or "I went on a road trip after my senior year of high school and we had a great time!".  One of my friends did ask me, "Are you nervous about this?".

Yes. Yes, I was. I was very nervous.  I couldn't even write about it because I was afraid that I'd say "I know everything will be fine!" and then two hours later I'd find out that everything was not fine.  However, all three returned home safe, if a bit tired.  As far as I know, there were no unmanageable disasters, encounters with law enforcement agencies, visits to the emergency room, or calls to insurance companies.

While the three besties were on their road trip, the Son of Never Stops Eating and the Dad of No were on a weekend trip because the Son of Never Stops Eating had a swim meet.  This meant that I was home by myself.  This almost never happens; someone besides me is always here.  When I got home from work on Friday night, the house was quiet.  The family mutt was laying on the daybed in the sunroom, sulking.  She looked up at me with a disdainful expression that said "Oh, it's just you, the not-treat-giving human", put her head back down, and sighed.

It was really quiet in the house.  It occurred to me that this kind of thing might start happening more often.  I enjoyed the quiet but it was also a little lonely, especially since the dog was giving me the cold shoulder even when I opened the cheese drawer just to see if that would lure her over to my side. I kept expecting a "Mom!" or a "MOM!" or a "MOOOMMMMMMM!" but it was just me, one sulky dog, and one anti-social hamster.

I'm honestly not sure if the College Student thinks she's ready or not; if anything, I'd guess that she's excited and nervous at the same time, which is how I would probably feel about moving to a new state to go to college, knowing that you don't really know anyone there (yet).  I want to think I'm ready for all this to happen, but I'm not.  I keep thinking of all these things that we still need to do, or that I need to tell her.  As the towels and the sheets for the dorm room bed and the other college paraphernalia start piling up in the sunroom in preparation to be packed in the car, and I watch the tuition and the meal plan and the student fees and the residence hall fees and the textbook charges being posted to her university bill, my Mom Brain keeps saying 'Not yet! I wasn't planning on this happening so fast! I need some do-overs on some things!".

Is she ready? Probably.  Am I ready? No. Is it going to happen anyway? Yes, it is. It will be an adventure into the great unknown.  Thirteen days and counting.  Ready or not, here we go.