Empty nest!

[Melalvai]

Our daughter moved into the dorm 1 week ago, 3 hrs away from home. During our first week as empty-nesters, I talked to her more every day than I had any other day the entire summer. Google hangout, facebook, phone calls, texts. We watched her open her care package (a bunch of stuff she forgot or didn't know she'd need) on google hangout.

This was not actually the first week of classes. It was Freshman Opening Week, and they kept them busy from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. Despite the crazy schedule she still found time to talk to Mom & Dad. Of course, it was mostly in the evening when she was tired and feeling homesick, so as far as I could tell she's been absolutely miserable the entire time, but I'm pretty sure she's been having fun. With classes starting this week, I think she'll settle in.

She had a flat tire yesterday. I'd tried to teach her some simple bike maintenance, but she hadn't been interested in learning, so she didn't actually know what to do. The tire came off the wheel so she couldn't wheel her bike to the bike shop, which is luckily within walking distance. She was able to take the rear wheel off, walked to the bike shop, they fixed it (lesson: electrical tape doesn't work as well as rim tape), and I talked her through putting the wheel back on, which can be trickier than you might think. She did it!

Turns out that being an empty nester is a lot more work than I anticipated. And here I thought we just wouldn't know what to do with ourselves!

[thekarens]

I wasn't that lucky. Our son went away to college and we only hear from him when he's ready to come home during school breaks. He's Mr. Social Butterfly. He didn't even come home this summer.

It was hard the first year, but I'm used to it now.

Congrats on teaching your daughter a new lesson. I bet she never forgets! :-)

[shootingstar]

Glad she consulted you and she eventually got it!

You'll enjoy your empty nesting. Hope she will Skype once in awhile. Maybe she'll share school commuting stories.

[lph]

Melalvai, I wish you had been my mom :-)

Best of luck with the transition!

[indysteel]

What lph said.

I know you and your daughter are already close as mother and child, but it sounds like you have all the makings for a genuine friendship with your soon-to-be adult daughter, too. I think that's just great--for the both of you. I hope you both do well in the transition. Is she still planning to study engineering?

[redrhodie]

I can only imagine how hard this is, and how proud you must be. She's going to do great!

[Melalvai]

Is she still planning to study engineering?

Yes! She's at Rolla, majoring in Civil Engineering.

[indysteel]

Yes! She's at Rolla, majoring in Civil Engineering.

That's great! I hope she enjoys her studies and that she has many wonderful opportunities ahead of her!

[Crankin]

I was sad the first day and never looked back!
My kids were already very independent before they graduated and gone a good deal of the time. We are very close, but generally spoke once a week, and IMd if we had more stuff going on. There were a few times DS #1 was home for the weekend and we never knew... He stayed at a friend's. I only knew by his cell phone bill. He was only an hour 20 minutes away, anyway. He came home on all of the usual holidays.
The other one called a lot his first year. Then he joined the military, but when he was not deployed we heard from him regularly. Now, he's back in school, but also married and working, so the communication is less.