Kids off to college anyone?

I always appreciated that my mom kept my and my sister's room the same after we left for college. I had a lot of friends whose parents turned their bedrooms into guest rooms or offices or workout rooms after they left and I could tell they felt like it wasn't really their home anymore...

 

Pro tip: Make sure you tell your kids they shouldn't have sex in the common areas, including the kitchen and especially the red couch.

 

And now I really hate you!

 

My mother immediately turned my bedroom into a sewing and craft room. Once I left for college at 18, I never "lived" at home again. After freshman year, I was there maybe two months tops before I got an apartment. I slept on an air mattress because my bed was in storage (eventually used it for my apartment). My parents wanted to make it clear, not in a cruel way but in a clear way: you are an adult now, you are on your own.

 

Best of luck, doctorquant, as you make the adjustment, and hope your daughter does well at college.

My oldest is starting high school this fall ... we'll see if college is in his future in four years.

I have a feeling it will be tougher when my daughter (12), the youngest, moves out.

As for me ... I can still vividly recall the excitement I felt in August 1990 when my parents left me in the dorm for freshman orientation week. You really feel like your life as an adult begins that day, and I guess in some ways it does.

 

Am happy (and more than a bit relieved) to report that it wasn't nearly as bad a deal as I had feared. It helped a lot that our daughter very quickly realized that she was ready for us to clear the hell out of there. Our youngest child, our 11-year-old daughter, was the most emotional when it was time to depart, but she was mollified by some Dippin' Dots on the way out of town and quickly began bubbling excitedly about today's first day of school.