The weekend was full of joy but tinged with a large dose of sadness. It is time for our second Daughter to move away to her new home (for 3 years). University is the next stage in her life and I am sure it will be full of fun and excitement with pressure and some challenges along the way.
It’s only 2 hours from home, but it is going to be strange not bumping into her, around the house and I will miss our little chats and taking her a coffee in the morning.
I might even miss nagging her about tidying her room and doing the washing up – I am sure she will not miss that!
With 2 boys left at home, we have time to prepare them to become independent, and make their way forward. Before you know it, we will have the house to ourselves. No more arguments between the kids, no more sulking or tantrums, just peace and quiet!
I think I will miss everything, that possibly, annoys me at the moment, plus all of the fun, laughter and time together.
The peace and quiet will not last for long though. Soon the Grandchildren will be driving and wanting to visit, or have a place to stay by the sea, for the weekend. I anticipate we will still get the calls for help and support, advice or guidance. After all, Mum and Dad are always Mum and Dad.
Hopefully all of their dreams come true and everything goes to plan, but if it doesn’t, we will be there, just like my Mum and Dad were.
I have to admit, I am feeling nervous about the future. I want everything to freeze in time and not change. I love how it is now. I love the relationship with my eldest Daughter, her partner and the Grandchildren. I hope that, one day, all of my family live close by and everyone comes back here to settle down to buy a house of their own, but that’s my dream!
If we have done our job right, they will follow their own path, do their own thing and create their own lives. We have to understand ‘that’s life’.
I appreciate how it must have felt for my parents when I left to join the RAF at 18 years old. The last child to leave and going far away, not just down the road! A sense of relief followed by a feeling of loss.
You have to love how things evolve and change. Resistance is futile, you can’t fight it, so might as well embrace it.
Good luck to all parents feeling the same way I do: Sad, excited, grateful and nervous.
Good luck to all of the new University students on the next stage of growth and development, the future is in your hands, make the most of it….