A fellow mom friend said she's been calling it "Free Birds" vs "Empty Nest" and I LOVE THAT!
We are officially, temporarily Free Birds. Moved Billy into Pioneer Hall at the U of M Twin Cities today.
Its crazy.
This summer has gone by fast and he's been practicing his independence. Between work at BLVD, taekwondo, grad parties, senior trip, movie nights and time with friends, we didn't seem him anyway! He'd leave right after lunch and wouldn't get home until much past 10pm. Needless to say I was asleep by then so...we had quick phone calls and texts to arrange car hand offs, meals and other logistics.
The night before move in we did the "last supper", beef stroganoff, his favorite. We loaded the car and doubled checked the list. Then he spent all night playing video games and cuddling the dogs.
Moving day was SO EASY! 10am appointment and we were done, unpacked and ready for lunch at 10:55a. Thank goodness that his roommate Jordan's dad helped us loft the bed. It was good to meet his parents too!
I don't feel like we had the weeks and weeks of packing angst and shopping hell. He's a pretty minimalistic kid (to the point where I had to tell him that he HAD to pack more than just 5 outfits). Good news, Jordan is also very minimalistic. They sounds like 2 peas in a pod. Kay even commented "that's all he packed?!"
Of course, the 1st person we saw on campus was Ava. Long time taekwondo family. They are in the same dorm. Then, ran into Theo, neighbor and friend since kindergarten at Meadowbrook.
5,000 kids moved into the U over the last 2 days and we saw 2 of our favorites in under 15 min. VERY auspicious.
Speaking of auspicious, the closest restaurant is Kimchi Tofu House. SOOOO good. Everyone there was Korean and speaking Korean. Yum. Yum. Yum.
After all our "lectures" on safety, studying, being safe, asking for help, calling home occasionally, making sure he eats food that will help him poop ....etc. I "think" we were all ready. I not sure how much he absorbed but...its done. He's off. He's nervous, excited, overwhelmed and ready for this next adventure.
As a momma bear, I have no worries about Billy. He's a good, thoughtful, kind, hardworking and responsible kid. I am worried about the U. Its big. And scary. I have visions of beer slides in hallways, keg stands and passed out 18 yr olds in common bathrooms. But, I'm also impressed with how intentional, organized, welcoming and happy it was today.
We all survived. I'm sure he will too.
Go get 'em Billy! You've got this!
Love you beyond measure...and...no Dad hasn't cried (yet).
Mom
