Some Perspective

Parents Forum
1

<p>I've been reading with great interest (and perhaps some bemusement) the threads/posts from parents of students just beginning the college journey. There is so much parental angst when children call in these first few days or weeks of college and tell parents of their sadness, loneliness, fears, or regrets.</p>

<p>As I sit here on the eve of my daughter's next journey: to the new (post-college) apartment and the new job--both far away from us--I cannot help but think back to each step along the way:</p>

<p>The first day of pre-school, with her tears and my angst;</p>

<p>The first day of high school--a large public school with 3000 students following on the heels of her pre-k through 8 private school, where she had eleven (!) in her eighth grade class--she cried for two weeks straight and felt life would never be good again;</p>

<p>The first weeks of college, with the calls home every day (will I make friends? will I do well?)</p>

<p>The two weeks preceding college graduation this past June, when she cried every day because she loved college so much and couldn't believe she had to leave that life behind;</p>

<p>To now, where she truly is growing up, is so excited (though nervous) about the new job, the new apartment (which is 5 miles from her college), the many friends she still has in the area and the new friends she will make....will there be tears tonight, on the eve of this journey? Perhaps....</p>

<p>Such a roller-coaster journey, and it goes so, so fast!</p>

2

<p>Very nice, filo. Thanks for that.</p>

3

<p>Yes, I have those pleasant experience too :)</p>

<p>D also worked a few years 3000 miles away from home.</p>

<p>I also attended Parents' Weekend at her grad school.</p>

<p>The journey continues...........</p>

4

<p>After four years of frequent conversations with daughter, frequent emails, texting and such, and coming home for all the holidays, she leaves for Oxford UK in a few weeks.</p>

<p>This will be tough. Phone is more expensive, the time change makes talking difficult, and flying her home for holidays is cost prohibitive. Thank goodness for email.</p>

<p>Her last overseas trip was three months in Bolivia a year ago. Since they were in the same time zone, and skype-in or out to a regular phone is cheap we were able to talk frequently. But where I work now blocks skype!</p>

<p>We'll just need to get more from less, I guess, but we are not looking forward to some of this...</p>

5

<p>Dd is heading off to Turkey for ten months - guess we'll reopen our Skype account.. :(</p>