A few years ago I received a bit of advice in the form of a few words of comfort. I was at my husband’s work picnic and talking to his coworker about big families. He had six children and his oldest was about to leave for her second year of college. At the time I had all my kids at home and our routine was very controlled. Everyone had their activities but by 9:00 all the kids were tucked into their beds. I asked him how hard was it to have a child leave for school…is it worrisome? I could not imagine being in those shoes. He said it took getting used to but it reaches a point when it is okay. It just becomes okay. He was right. Now with two kids away from home it feels okay. I was weary I would ever reach this point. It helps that they are happy and they have surrounded themselves with good friends. I’m happy they are happy!
What about when they come home for a visit? Oye! It’s so exciting!
Hadley is coming home this weekend and I can’t wait to just hug that child. I always want her to feel like this is her home, even though we moved here while she was away at school and no longer has her own bedroom. But she needs a place! A place that can be hers while she is here. I never want her to feel like a guest.
I surrounded her little corner bed with things that remind me of her and hopefully remind her of happy days of childhood.
Her childhood desk, it has an old wood smell inside it that instantly reminds me of her sitting at it working on her papers and crafts. While she is too big for it now it is a good place to lay a suitcase.
This is a pillow she and I worked on one hot Texas afternoon.
When she was 7 she memorized all the bird flashcards. I wonder if this has come in handy in her life? Does she walk through her neighborhood and identify birds? I shall ask her this when she is here. Maybe I will quiz her and see how well she remembers them.
There are treasures from her dad’s travels. Each trinket has a story, my children often remember these stories better than I do. All that traveling we did has made the world small in Hadley’s eyes. Much smaller than I thought it was when I was her age. The enormity of the world scared me, she isn’t bothered by such things. She likes to see and do, where as I liked to look and think about doing.
What about that feeling when you are at the airport and waiting for your loved one to walk through the doorway? It’s unnerving! Hurry up and come home to mama!
