My son left to go back to school this morning. He was running late, but he did indulge me by pausing for this photo before he rumbled out the door. He already had his game face on. Now my living room is neat as can be. All the blankets and comforters dragged out of closets by him and his friends are folded and put away. The errant socks tucked down into sofa creases are waiting to be laundered. The electronics cords that just yesterday were snaking across my coffee table, have been rolled and stuffed into suitcases. All the cushions that he carelessly tossed aside whenever he dived onto the couches are back in their positions. Now the missing him begins.
happy to learn that son is feeling better - that would be a bummer for him and you had he still felt ill.
ReplyDeleteMine swell my heart, as well. Glad to hear he's feeling better and on his way!
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard- these college years- they leave and we finally come to terms with it and then they come back and they leave again and it's hard every time. Grief is sort of never-ending, even as we send them off, aware that they must leave and that our job as parents is specifically to raise them so that they can.
ReplyDeleteHe's beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteoh,
ReplyDeleteit's bittersweet enough without him feeling icky.
maybe he just needed some of what he got. :)
your daughter sounds like an angel. both of your children just seem so , I don't know... a reflection of how they are loved and raised?
enjoy the less messy , my son went back as well. daughter in a week. she came back from a trip to visit friends in Michigan with baking supplies like fondant etc ( that are of course significantly less expensive than here in Ontario ) , so my kitchen will be messy still, again, and again.....
Oh, my. He is handsome.
ReplyDeleteHave I told you how much I love your blog? And I love the way it looks -- how you position the writing and the photos --
Another awesome post, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI'll be having the same feeling when (if!) I fly home from Atlanta on Friday.
They sure do grow on us, don't they? ;)
Much love,
gabriele
Sigh...The look on his face is one that I have seen frequently, as well. How do we hold on when they are fighting so hard for us to let go?
ReplyDeleteBig hugs, dear Angella. We are soul-sisters in all of this.
Love,
Debbie
That's one fine young man! Missing him now yes, but his next visit will be even sweeter!
ReplyDeletemouse, he probably knew that, too. i don't think he was back to himself fully, but he didn't want me to worry.
ReplyDeleteTess, i know you were in this same place a week ago.
Ms. Moon, it's part of the job description, isn't it? Bitter and sweet. I read on Silver's blog a quote that said grief is the price we pay for love. I'll take that bargain.
Rebecca, to me he is! Aren't they always to their mothers.
deb, all your children seem to be accomplished in the kitchen, as you are. there goes my theory that mine are competent in that area because i am not! i think we really don't mind the messy when our children bring it. in fact, the neat can seem too much so.
elizabeth, thanks for the kind word about the look of the blog. I definitely fiddle with the photos and their placement so it's nice to think it's not for naught.
Gabriele, they do grow, and now you have those beautiful grandchildren!
Debra W, what is that look? I keep rejecting what I suspect it means, which is that he was ready to back in his real life. His life away from us is now what is more real to him, it's where he can be most himself. And yet i remember that being true for me too when I left home for college. I never returned home after that, either. (Or maybe he was just running late and not feeling completely better. I am a master of denial!)
Deborah, doesn't he look like his dad at that age though?