Having a Kid in College...

image courtesy: www.ohiou.edu

Just an observation, here are some of the things that people don't tell you about having a kid in college:

1.  You will miss that kid like crazy.  Of course, that's a given.  But (sorta) knowing what it was going to feel like and what it actually feels like are so different.

2.  Some days it will make you feel old.  In my case, my kid goes to the same college that I did.  (Yay!)  I could not be prouder of that fact.  It warms my heart that we have yet another thing to bond us together.  But, when she talks about this hall or that event or the dorm (same one that I lived in!), I am instantly teleported back 20 years to my days there.  God, I love that place. 

Then I snap back to reality - yes, it's really been twenty-three years since I lived in that dorm.  Yikes.

3.  College is expensive.  Even state schools where you get in-state tuition (thank God for military clauses).  But then you have to add in room and board, books, spending money, packages, and trips to see your kid or trips for your kid to see you. 

I'm really not complaining.  I love that kid - more than life.  I am SO proud that she's in school.  And I don't care what the cost, as long as she gets a degree.  But dang, kids in themselves are expensive.  When they stop living with you full-time, they get more expensive.  Hopefully that's temporary.  :-)

4.  You will walk by her room one day and be fine, and the next day you'll find yourself sitting on her bed for no reason, tearing up while thinking of her toddler years (again, for no apparent reason).  How the heck did 18 years go by so stinking fast?

5.  An addendum to #4 - Time goes faster with every passing year.  People used to tell me when she was little - "Enjoy your kids.  They grow up fast."  Before I knew it she was 18.  Where did those years go?  I still feel 18 most days!  Ok, well, my body doesn't really feel 18, but my mind does.  That counts, right?

6.  Your pride radiates when you talk about your college student.  I mean, I've always been proud of her.  But I can feel it radiating from my bones when I tell people about my "college girl".  Sometimes I even tear up a little.  I can't help it.  :-)

7.  Your other kids, still at home, become the object of extra hugs - and sometimes extra chores.  It has to be that way.  As the kids get older, they have to help.  At least a little.  There's no way for the house to run with me working full-time unless they pitch in now and then.

8.  I miss that girl.  Love you, Alissa.