Random Thoughts by Shelley: An adventure from the routine

A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints. – Wilfred Peterson

Well, well, well, finally another moment in time where a random thought strikes. To be really frank, I've had tons of random thoughts in the past weeks, but they were so random, it seemed like too much work to write about them.

A little over a week ago, our family entered a new phase in life. For my husband and me, the empty nest phase, for our youngest a phase of adventure in a big city.

Sending your youngest child off to college is a whirlwind. It is another adventure together, worth remembering and living through. So many roller coaster emotions! The prep work beforehand, the patience needed while watching her pack and not being able to really help. The hugs and tears of the meltdowns and wondering will the packing ever really get done. The packing and repacking of the car when she remembers one more thing! A less than restful night of "sleep" before you hit the road.

Then the long trip there, with the quiet and somber thoughts of are we doing the right thing, this is so far away. The excitement and anticipation when we arrived there and the rush of unloading all the items that did get packed. The reality setting in when seeing her new room, meeting her roommates, seeing what the noise level and hustle/bustle of a big city is really like. It was hard not to be excited for her despite those tiny little tugs at your heart as you begin to miss her and the routine you had in life up to this point.

There's always that last moment, where you have to say "goodbye" and let her go off on this new adventure alone, without you. Seeing her walk away into the big crowd of people. Oh, man, that's a big deal! There is a reason the school placed a small box of Kleenex in the gift bag for the parents.

Tears continue with the moment you arrive home. Her car is there, but she's not. Then you walk into her room where the whirlwind started and find a carefully placed note reminding you "I'm somewhere else for a just a little while". I couldn't hold them back anymore, I had to finally let the tears from all the emotions flow.
But then...I realized (a day later), that I was just being selfish. The break in my routine from 18 years of her being there is going to be tough, but I can grow out of this just as much as she can.

Reminding myself, it is easier nowadays with technology. I can see instantaneously what she is up to. She keeps us posted by sending text messages and photos of her life and happenings. We get to live the adventure with her. The ease of this new routine officially hit us when we shared our first Skype call with her. It had only been 4 days and she had discovered new things, started reading new books, meeting new people and growing up even more! Ah...another proud parent moment! Yep, we're gonna make it through this new phase!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the moments where you discover a break in routine is just what you need!