Tonight's my last night in Grand Forks, North Dakota. I'm leaving behind my wonderful daughter, Silver, to make her own way in the world.
*sigh*
It's hard to let go.
So, yesterday we moved her into her dorm room. She's in a marvelous Residence Hall with very few students staying there, which I think is a wonderful thing, but some students apparently don't. I was told by a fifth-year student, who's been living there since her Sophomore year, that usually everyone is in their own room by the end of the year due to girls moving out to a busier Hall (read: one with more "action"). Or they join sororities, or whatever. Anyway, she said that usually by the end of the year, there will only be about twenty women staying there.
Here's a before picture of her room, when we first entered:
After we rearranged the furniture and had everything unpacked and set up, her desk:
She gets the top bunk:
And in her pleather-clad glory (note the BIG-ASS album on the top shelf next to her...that's the infamous Pokemon card collection. Also note the gigantic stacks of cards next to the album. Those are some of her "extra" cards.)
Okay, photobucket is being a big pain in my ass, by not letting me embed some pics that have been resized, so I'll just post some links to pics of the exterior of her building.
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Isn't it pretty?
The highlight of yesterday, however, was being asked by another resident if I was moving in...if that isn't an ego-boost, I don't know what is! I would recommend she get her vision checked...
Today I returned the rental car in the morning and spent the rest of the day chilling out in my room, avoiding the rain and thunderstorms...Silver wasn't so lucky, she had to be out in the weather! Poor thing. I guess it's impossible to stop worrying, even though she's "all grown up"!
This concludes my mini-travelogue. I wish I had more pictures, but since I was the driver, it was impossible to take pics from the car, and the weather was too inclement for me to walk around everywhere like I had planned (and I was not properly clothed for bad weather, either!).
By this time tomorrow, I'll be home with my dogs...but I bet I'll still be listening for the wicked chuckle coming from the other room...
9 comments:
IMHO, your feelings are completely normal and natural.
Megan was also 18 when I drove her to Midwest State [about 1.5 - 2 hours away]. As I was driving home I kept thinking I had left something behind.It hit me when I got to the city limits: I had left Megan behind.
So feeling that when Silver is in another state must be harder. Oh well, Thanksgiving will be here before you know it.
Holly, some feelings are just universal, aren't they?
I don't know about Thanksgiving, but I sure hope she makes it home for Christmas!
I'd hate to live alone. Wait a few years and I'll be there, Mom.
It's hard to let go.
Yup. In spades. But I think the difficulty is an order of magnitude greater for Mom than it is for Dad. IMHO.
Awwwww, Tally! That's so SWEET! I look forward to that time, Sweetie. :D
Buck, do you think so? I'm not so sure...
Awwww! She looks like she belongs there!
That's the important thing, isn't it, pdb?
She's where she belongs, where she insisted she belonged, all the way back in her freshman year of high school.
Buck, do you think so? I'm not so sure...
Well, yeah... I do. And I'm generalizing, of course... well aware of the dangers in so doing. I've seen men who had "issues" with letting go, but they're in the minority. That's just my anecdotal experience, though. Mebbe it's just that men are better at concealment... our culture seems to work that way.
Buck, I think men in most societies/cultures are raised to be stoic in situations like these, that doesn't mean they don't feel!
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