Whichever way you head back to your university, and what ever the weather you take off or land in, we hope that for you, and all the worried college parents out there, that it was a safe trip. Going to school in Colorado, and growing up in Pennsylvania, traversing between those two parts of the country I found myself in weather like that pictured above in either or both ends. It made for some interesting trips back and forth to college, but some memorable ones as well.
I just saw my daughter off to her university in Vermont from Colorado this week during which Vermont was amid a snowstorm predicted to dump about a foot of snow. We get storms of that magnitude in Colorado fairly frequently, but not while my child is in a plane flying into one. That is a little different story for this mom. I am sure many of you out there can certainly relate. The biggest issue for her that day thankfully, was having to make her way with luggage in tow across campus in said foot of snow when no Ubers were to be found. Say it isn’t so! How things have changed since my college days!
I don’t know about your kiddos, but mine was happy to be home, but very excited to go back as well. She is loving her college experience, which is all you can hope for when your child goes off to the university that they have chosen. I also know of a few parents who similarly loved having their children home but were just as excited to have them go back to school as well! Funny how that happens! They find their wings and can’t wait to soar!
I personally hold on to the fact that I got closer to my parents after I moved out than I ever was when I actually lived with them. From half a country away we spoke almost every day (after college of course, give them a chance to have way too much fun the first few years!!!) and they became my greatest friends as well as my parents. I don’t honestly know if that would have happened had I not had that experience of going off and finding my way on my own first. College, though not the only way for sure, is a great way to do that. It is a safer way to take that first step since everyone else is taking that step with you. You all just figure it out together as you go along. Then when you have accomplished that, you go back to your parents a little more like a peer than a child. A little more like a good friend who, though you haven’t seen in a while, you pick up exactly where you left off, and are closer than ever.
So, as you send your kiddo off on that potentially blustery trek back to school after winter break keep in mind all the amazing things he or she is learning outside their degree that are shaping these amazing beings that you will see in a whole new light and love in a whole new way when they come back.