Making it Special – Last Day Before College Begins

I’m big on celebrations. Any opportunity to make a moment special, I’m all over it. Bryce is leaving for college tomorrow. We load up the old “ghetto” truck as Bryce affectionately calls my husband’s F150 pick-up, and fill it up with a bed, dresser, book shelves, boxes of food and art supplies and take the boy back to the hood.

Bryce and I held a ping pong tournament in the back yard on his last day home. Took a walk up Cold Run whose headwaters are in this exquisite valley surrounded by mountains, where these is a marvelous dairy (Heisler’s) in the middle of the wilderness where we enjoyed a teaberry milkshake…just celebrating being with my son and a great summer.  And Bryce got to pick his favorite meal for his “Last Supper…” Shish kabobs cooked over the backyard campfire.

Todd said, “Why is he getting his favorite meal? He’s not moving to China like Sierra just did?” And I said, “He’s moving to north Philly and that is reason enough.”

My mom always made me a pork and sauerkraut dinner for good-luck (also eaten on New Year’s Day by some ethnicity) when I would leave for a long hiking journey and I always appreciated the gesture. It made it seem all the more important in my life- what I was about to do. I think we need to honor and celebrate change in our lives, not shrink back from it and not ignore it either. I believe you’ve gotta celebrate those transitions. Enjoying him today and making his last day a little more special will allow me to let go of him a little easier tomorrow when I withdraw my embrace and head back north to Schuylkill County. Todd warns Bryce though, “Don’t try to build a trash fire on the sidewalk of your apartment to cook dinner should you miss it. Come home instead.” He will!