Tomorrow is the day. Our “Blondie” returns to College to begin her Senior year and to tackle the grown up ways of renting her own apartment off campus.

Life will become quiet again here.

No more four in the morning awakenings (like the one that happened last night), high heels on the kitchen floor or cuddling together on the couch to watch the last season of Parenthood on her laptop.

We have been down this road with our son. Shopping, packing, unloading, sweating, worrying, loving and leaving. But this will be our last time and the air is thicker and the parents seem, well, a little older.

There is a gigantic emotional purging of us parents of college age children and I have often thought there should be a huge support group to talk about all the hills and valleys. There is no road map, no manual, you cannot click google to tell you whether or not your child will succeed, be happy, or not fall in a ditch (every time they don’t call or text me I think this is what happened).

But we do our very best everyday, we parent by example –we are human by example.  We teach respect, hard work, ethics and to be kind to everyone no matter who they are or where they have been. We wake in the middle of the night wondering if they will find love, be brave, smile each and every day.

Our first daughter Samantha is no longer on earth with us and we know that she watches over her sister. There is no doubt in our mind.

Rebecca will not be happy with me on this one – she is currently not a sharer like her Mom- but a few years ago she had an assignment where she had to interview her grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents to learn more about their history.

This is how she ended her essay:

My family has taught my brother and I, pride, hard work, humility and values. While my parents always watched out for us and knew what we were doing (most of the time) they also allowed us to be who we were, they didn’t push us to do anything that didn’t feel right for us, and allowed us to discover who we are on our own. I always watched my friends parents, control their every move and tell them what they should do and believe in, but not mine.. I was allowed to try new things and find myself on my own. My parents had a daughter before my brother and I, she passed away after just ten days, and although it might not be possible, I always felt like I knew this little girl who was supposed to be my big sister. When I was younger my mom told me I would look in the mirror and talk to myself , she would ask who I was talking to and I would tell her “my sister.” Every where I am, I feel her with me, its like having an angel on my shoulder. I’m very lucky to have the family I do.

Tomorrow this girl will start her life as a Senior in College with her own apartment and we will continue not to tell her what to do but to lead her to conclusions of her own, encourage her to shine and hope that we will always laugh, find adventures and be together. Well at least for the next hundred years. 🙂

Live large “Blondie” we love you to the moon and back.