But a bigger day in the life J, my 18 year old son. He has started life as a student in Nottingham.
I have been pre-occupied since I returned from New York on Tuesday with his impending departure. On Wednesday lunchtime I went to get him some bits and pieces from Tescos and found myself choking back tears as I bought him tins of soup.
The whole house had been piled high with stuff to go and stuff to throw for the past week or so. I couldn't get along the upstairs corridor without scaling over some of his stuff. I've been back home now for nearly three hours and I can't yet face going upstairs as I am not ready for the clear corridor which means he doesn't live here anymore.
When we (me and his girlfriend) arrived at his place it was a flat for five residents but he was the first one there. Some four hours of queuing for various essential cards and passes later, his girlfriend and I had to leave but at that point he was still the only one there. I don't have the words to explain how terrible I felt as we drove away, me seeing him in my car mirror, thinking he was going to possibly be alone all night.
Thanks to the wonders that are mobile phones, texts arrived on our way home to say two lads had turned up and he was liking them both. I felt slightly better.
But now I am sitting here alone - both the other two are out working (another first this week in the case of my daughter)- and I keep picturing the chubby faced, blonde curly haired little cherub who old ladies used to coo over - and I can't understand where those years have gone.
Better stop now before my tears damage my key board.
Dawn
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At dawn today, I was walking along the beach at Filey. It was low tide and
the sun had just risen over Flamborough Head. In front of of me, I saw a
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10 comments:
I remember feeling exactly like that when I took my daughters to their universities for the first time. It is a defining moment. :)
Can't imagine that feeling and i don't wanna belittle what you're goin through but when my folks dropped me off at Stirling Uni, 28 years ago, i was on the very cusp of the best bit of my life by miles.
Bet your son's in heaven right now. And i bet he'll love you all the more when he sees you next.
Hope so, anyway.
OMG! Nottingham! Well you know what a reputation that city has got ;)
I really enjoyed my trip to Nottingham to see Neil Young the other month - I reckon he'll love avery minute.
Incidentally I'm having to go private with my blog. If you still want to tread it can you send your blogger email address to steve dot garry at gmail dot com.
Testament to you as leader of a one parent family that your son has made it into higher education. He must have inherited some of your braininess. Nottingham isn't so far away. He'll be back loving you and appreciating you all the more because of his absence. Fledglings must fly. It's what it is all about.
Oh I know the feeling! It's a rite of passage. But it gets easier and finally you get to clear all their old crap out of the house (eventually1)
I've missed so much :-(
University, China... I have a lot of reading to catch up on!!
Hope you are ok, will try and catch up soon! Lots has happened at both ends so it seems!!
xx
There's a lot of this about at the moment. The consolation is that he will be having a ball and he'll be back before you know it - we can't get rid of the buggers right now.
Thank you everyone who has commented here and I must apologise for not having the time before I get kicked off this computer to personally comment to each of you.
He's doing fine.
Me? Not quite so fine but I am getting there.
I thought I'd be like that when Son No. 1 went off to university, but I wasn't. If I'd been the parent of one of his housemates, who simply sat, frozen and looking lost, on the sofa the whole time we were there, I might have been, but Son was fairly confident and seemed happy, so I was OK.
Your son will be OK too. They tend to blossom very quickly at uni, you know. Even the frozen, lost-looking one did. ;)
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