<p>Adam, don’t worry about your mom. Your mom will be fine</p>
<p>Most of the mom’s on here with boys seem like they’d like to hear from their sons a little more when they are gone. (I have daughters, one keeps in touch, the other not as much). Just stay in touch with her. </p>
<p>Any mom on here who misses their kid does NOT want that kid to be worried about it. Trust me. </p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>This thread is so sad! I actually started crying from reading it… </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone dealing with children at college!</p>
<p>You are a sweet son Adam. Just spend time with your mom, let her know you appreciate her. Don’t promise daily phone calls once you get to school (because there is no way you can keep that promise!), text every so often, and set up a regular phone call so she knows when she will hear from you. These things will help. Also let her know specific things you are doing…not just vague “I’m making friends…”. If you’re comfortable with specifics, mom’s generally like names of new friends, where you went to dinner, etc. It makes them feel connected. Again, you are sweet to think of your mom. 
</p>
<p>Speaking personally, I’m a brand new college mom, so PLEASE don’t take my posts as what’s normal for the long-term. We DO adjust!!</p>
<p>As a dad, it will take years for the little bast---- to realize how much of our souls we’ve invested in them and they haven’t got a clue how much we miss them.
I’ve been a decent dad but, they have a great mother. For which, they oughtta be grateful to me for!</p>
<p>stageforsurvivor - I loved your post</p>
<p>I have had 2 days at home without D. It’s odd and too quiet. I miss her, but I am so happy and excited for her that I am way more glad than sad. I am blessed with a younger son at home and a part time job to keep me distracted and feeling needed.</p>
<p>Congrats to us all for raising kids that want to pursue higher education and providing the means/skills/support system to get there.</p>
<p>ah SFS-</p>
<p>I think my H has a harder time when they leave than I do. Hence all the dogs we have running round the house.</p>
<p>My oldest realizes this. LOL and she calls him a couple of times a week. My youngest, who he misses terribly, has no clue she is the inspiration for the new DIY deck out back. But, when she really needs something? She calls him, not me.</p>
<p>add me to the list whose H is having a harder time…not unexpected though; he has been kind of mopey leading up to this for most of August…</p>
<p>We’ll be fine; just a new normal…</p>
<p>at least we don’t have to take a survey everyday as to who will be home for dinner…</p>
<p>Seriously, Poetgrl. You could loan him out for DIY projects anytime!</p>
<p>It’s going to be tough on me when the baby flies the next in a year. I am already planning ahead - I know how sad I will be. It will be devastatingly rough on my H, however. </p>
<p>And he isn’t the DIY type!</p>
<p>I dropped my youngest off at the airport at noontime. Her flight arrived in Boston, 1,500 miles from home, just moments ago. I did not cry in front of her, she was fighting back tears, but I sobbed on the way to my car. And I have been teary-eyed ever since. I did a little retail therapy on the way home because I could not bare the thought of going home to an empty house. I am sad that she is gone, but so proud and excited for her to begin this new phase of her life. But I am going to be a hot mess for a while.</p>
<p>Samurai! Helloooooo.</p>
<p>My H was not the DIY type either. It was oddly suprising, and, at first, quite alarming…especially before he found the level. :p</p>
<p>My S left last year and H was quite broken up when we dropped him off (he is foreign and the whole idea of sending kids away before they are married is bizarre and cruel–to the parents–in his mind). He kept saying that college in the US is like death/marriage in his home country…your child is gone and will never return. </p>
<p>I thought H was being typically overwrought. I really felt only overwhelming ENVY…as I saw S surrounded by bright people, all his wordly needs taken care of, planning to take interesting classes, and with all that possibility…all that freedom…Not that I want to redo anything from the past 30 years but I will never again have that feeling of unlimited possibility that he has right now. So, I was surprised when it hit me a few weeks later…and found myself in tears and really missing him…but it was a brief interlude and I was busy with D still at home and work…Thus, I, the parent of a sophomore, was COMPLETELY UNPREPARED for grief this second year as he left with his dad last week. OMG! I was a wreck. Somehow it really hit that he is only here for visits and perhaps next summer will not even come home for a long period. So… the grief bug will get you and get you good when you least expect it. Just find a place ot be private and have your tears and then try and be envious again…</p>
<p>Have you read this thread yet?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/681300-so-what-do-you-do-empty-nest.html?[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/681300-so-what-do-you-do-empty-nest.html?</a> Very helpful.</p>
<p>I got a funny text from my DS the other day. It said “I spent the past 2 days painting my room , and when I went to put the curtains back up, I scuffed the wall. Now I finally understand why for all those years you were on my case about marking up the walls” (or words to that effect). Nice that they realize what its like to house them :)</p>
<p>I hate to say it, but your daughter has begun a new life.</p>
<p>She will be busy with her school work, and busy with a new social life.</p>
<p>There will even come a time when she won’t come home even for holidays, either because she is too busy, or perhaps she is going to a future boyfriend’s family, or travelling with friends.</p>
<p>And then, perhaps a job in a far off city, or even a different country.</p>
<p>You should be proud that you have taken your daughter this far, but now, she is on her own for the rest of the journey.</p>
<p>Adam, what a sweetheart you are! What a good son!</p>
<p>floridadad, the realization of how close that day is, is one reason I’m so sad. It goes so fast. My God.</p>
<p>I walked into her room and seeing the rack on which she hung her jewelry, all empty now, I think has been the hardest thing. I have tried for years to achieve a house in which all the spaces INCLUDING HERS were tidy all at once, and now, I wish the bathroom was it’s usual mess of bobby pins, hair product overspray, and bandaid wrappers. The bathroom being neat all the time is something that is bitter sweet.</p>
<p>I guess I should go attend to the Fabric Pile of Shame in my studio and get productive…or maybe just read and eat chocolate today and do that later in the week…</p>
<p>I wish my ex-H would show some emotion, ever. We both go to the airport with D, wave goodbye, and he just seems too nonchalant about it. Of course, he only saw her 4-5 times all summer, whereas she and I spend so much time together, but still…that’s his baby, too. Couldn’t he squeeze out a tear or two just to make me feel better! Those of you with H’s who are invested in the kids and show emotion, cherish them. They are keepers!!!</p>
<p>My foreign H left home for college at an early age, and then moved to the US. For him it was no big deal to think of going away young, despite being involved with son as he grew up. Different people likely from different countries (response to post #51 experience).</p>
<p>Snapdragonfly, I vote for eat chocolate! I will even join you.</p>
<p>Every family dynamic is different. I think having only girls or only boys can also impact how the parents interact. I have three boys so as the only female in the house I have always been totally outnumbered. Bluedad tends to think I am overly emotionally about everything…this may be true, however if we had a daughter in the mix I believe he wouldn’t view me as such an alien. 
I love my boys dearly and I never, ever missed having a daughter when they were tiny. I do however feel lonely now that they are older and my emotions are regularly called out. If there were more of a balance in the house I think they would see it wasn’t just me… mars/venus… kwim?</p>
<p>BI-I hear you. I am the minority in my house-H ,two Ss and me. I think dads handle this kind of separation differently from moms. My H does not really want to hear me talking too much about S and he thinks I am “reading too much into it”. However, he does ask me if I have heard from S when he comes home from work.</p>