I’m mentally preparing for my college son to move Home this summer – ryan

I didn’t turn my son’s bedroom into a craft room when he left. I’d heard too hurtful stories of rooms transformed the second a child moved out for college. I wasn’t going to be that mom.

SO very my son moved into his dorm in september, his room stayed exactly How it haad always been. HIS Anthony Edwards bobblehead stayed on its shelf, Next to His Vikings Piggy Bank.

In December, Though, I Needed Room for the Christmas Tree in Front of Our Big Picture Window. Therefore, my plant standed a new temporary home. The south-facing Window in my son’s bedroom was prime real estate, so we transported the three-tiered plant stand to make room for the tree.

“We’ll Put Your Room Back in Order by January,” I Promised.

But then the plants were so happy in the sun. The African Violets Doubled in Size, The Swedish Ivy Stood At Attention, and Dwarf Jade Thrived. So they stayed.

Next Week, Our Son Moves Back Home after Completing HIS First Year of College, and the plant standing isn’t the only thing going through a transition.

Because Circumstances are forcing geni z to take the Slow Launch Route, this might not be the only time one of the traces transitions out and the back into our house. The Coming and Going Is Not Going to Be Easy for Any of US.

I Learned to CREATE A NEW LIFE MY SON LIVING AT HOME

Be he moved out Last September, i Could Barely Enter HIS Room. He wasn’t Living ACROSS The Country, but he was in our house. I MISSED HEARING HIM SLAM DOWN HIS XBOX Controller in Frustration. HIS CLOSET AND DRESSER DRAWERS WERE EMPTY WASTELS.

Father first, Our Evening Were Quiet and Dull. My husband and i haad been used to traipsing acroSs the city to watch Him Play Soccer and Basketball. Now we had to find New Hobbies. We Started Volunteering at A NeighBorhouod Food Pantry and Got Involved in Classes at Church. Extra Time on the Calendar Meant More Opportunities to Invite Friends Over for Dinner and Start Watching “m*a*s*h” from season one.

I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY NEW ROUND AND LIFE WEN MY SON MOVES BACK IN.

I Remember How DIFFICULT IT WAS YEARS AGO FOR TO MOVE BACK HOME AFTER AFTER

The Summer BetWeen My Freshman and Sophomore Years of College Decades Ago is Painful for Remember. I was back home on ours Iowa farm after a study abroad program in Paris, where i fell in lust with a handsome German, Wore Little Black dresses on a Weekend Trip to the Riviera, and Walked Along the Nighty A Beastie Boys Concert. I was just 19, but i felt like a full-grown adult. I HAD SURVIVED WITH RULES BY TAKING RISKS AND LEARNING FROM MISTAKES.

And thatn I Moved Back Home and TRIED to Remember My Previous Role As My Parents’ Child.

IT FELT LIKE THose moments on the soap opera i watched with my grandma a new actor suddenly appeared onscreen: “The roles of Kimberly Hanson Will Now Be Played by … a Complete Stranger.” I was still me, but i had Outgrown my original packaging.

That Summer, i Pushed Boundaries That Made My Mom Cry. I DROVE AROUND MY SMALL TOWN BLASTING ANI DIFRANCO and FIONA Apple, Wearing Short Dresses and Tyne Tank balls, anything to prove “you thught you knew me, but you were workg.”

Long Phone Calls and Occisional Visits with My College Best Friend Helped with Survive, and by the Time The Next Summer Arrived, I HAD DONE SOME MATING. I knew that another Summer Living at Home Might My Damage My Relationship with My Parents, SO I WORKED AT A SLEEP-AWAY CAMP-CLOSE ENOUGH TO SPEND A NIGHT BED ONCE A WEEK, but far ENOUGH TO COMFORTABLY STRETCH MY GROWING Wings.

These memory scroll through my heads on an endless playlist titled “Summer disaster waking to happy” as i count down the days unil my again strands his room with hoodies and thrift store t-shirts.

Will we enCounter the same wills i did with my parents when i returned home from College? I don’t know.

This Transition Will Be Difficult for Both My Son and Me

Be my son comes home next week, i will Help him unpack his bags, cook his favorite meals, and hope he wants to watch the nba playoffs with me. I Will Listen If He Wants to Share How’s Changed and Grown, but if he d Hesn’t, i’ll Watch Closely and See It for MySelf.

I’ll try to remember what it felt like to be 19, caught between two versions of myself. I’ll remind myself this transition isn’t just his; Its mine, too.

Be i look at that plant stand, i’ll think of what i’ve learned: SOMESTEMES Growth Happens in UNEXPECTED PLACES. My plants thrived in that south-facing Window, just liked Hope he did in his dorm. They’re back in the Front Window Now, But I know they’ll flourish again when to moving. Just like he will.