Year two ... it gets easier.
I remember last year at this time, I was completely caught off guard by the emotions I felt after dropping Mallory, my older daughter, off for her first year of college. The weeks that followed included a few crying sessions sitting on the end of her bed at home looking around at the teenage memorabilia she left behind.
Other WRAL Top Stories
Year two ... it’s different.
We know what to bring this time. No late night emergency runs to Target. And this time SHE made lists, organized and packed (for the most part).
Somewhere along the way, I made peace with the fact that she is now an adult. She has spread her wings and is fully invested in a world that doesn’t involve me on a daily basis. We see her throughout the year for school breaks, holidays and quick weekend getaways to Virginia, but they are all just “visits.” She no longer lives at home. I know that now.
Year two ... it’s still a milestone.
It is taking me one year closer to having an empty nest. My younger daughter is a junior in high school, and I know it’s only a matter of time before she too flies the coop.
Year two ... it’s not as easy as you think it will be.
I have just left her again. I take peculiar solace in the fact that it is not the last time I will leave her. I linger a moment longer than I should. I know now what I will return to—her high school bedroom is a little more bare than it was the last time. She has cleaned out more of who she was then as she hurdles toward who she is becoming.
While my heart hurts again, maybe slightly less this time, I know she is on a fabulous journey and I can’t wait to see where it takes her ...
Amanda is the mom of two, a reporter for WRAL-TV and the author of several books including some on motherhood. Find her here on Mondays.