Sending My "Baby" to College Tomorrow
 

Well, we have packed up the Budget truck, sweated till we're all completely gross, and now we will wait until morning and pull out bright and early for Murfreesboro, TN. I have very bittersweet feelings about all of this.

It will be nice to have a clean upstairs, and I can actually paint his room and get a new bedspread for the bed he left in there. There will not be anymore fixing muffins at midnight for a hungry boy, buying 3-4 boxes of cereal each shopping trip, listening to strange guitar music at all hours. Everyone left in my house, which is just me and Eddie, will actually be in bed before 11 PM most nights!!

On the other hand, I will miss having him come bounding downstairs asking for waffles or Velveeta & Shells, needing his laundry done at the last minute, his quirky and strange sense of humor and even his guitars (sometimes).

When we were packing up his room, we found all of his childhood things from all the different phases of his life. First there were Beanie Babies, then came the yo-yos, then the skateboards & tech-decks, and then all the music stuff. He has a bass, a keyboard, and about six guitars. Then there are the amps, the "cab" (whatever in the world that is), the "head", all the guitar stands, even a tambourine. As we waded through all his old stuff, we couldn't bear to part with any of it, so it's all packed up neatly in a closet waiting for him to someday take it all away, but not right now.

I just want to know that we have put everything in him that he will need for a future with God. So far, he's been a great kid, very non-conformist and untraditional, but a good kid. He's never given us any trouble at all. I just want to know that he'll find a good church and be faithful to God throughout college. How do you ever know? I just have to believe that we dedicated him to Jesus when he was a few weeks old - actually my brother Scott did it - and now I have to trust Jesus to hold him tightly.

Just the musings of a lonely Mom!

God bless you!

Mine graduated with his bachelor's degree in May, and is going back in September.......

you are sending yours to college...i am sending mine to pre-K. we BOTH need prayer!!! :-)

Ha! I remember doing this last year... Just wait until you actually leave him on the campus. OHHHH..... (the continual flow of tears).....

But the good news. The boy you leave on campus is on his way to manhood with a solid foundation under his feet and continual prayers along his path. Rest in that.

And know that they do come home for breaks and summer and turn things upside down again. Its even more fun when they have been gone and you catch glimpses of the strides they are making in their journey along the way.

So the next time I leave my son at campus, it will be easier. Thank God!!! :hypercoffee

Blah, Blah! LOL Just kidding

I can speak of the point of view of the kid leaving.

It is just as sad no matter how we act, say, think or let on. We miss being able to ask for food at 3 am and mom fixing it. Cause she was up cause she couldn't sleep anyway. Good times, great memories. Wish I could go back.

Well gee I've got one in ninth grade and one in the sixth grade.
No empty nest for me anytime soon.

Ha! In the twinkling of an eye brother! Life just gets faster... ;)

It blows my mind how fast they grow.They're already talking about how cute boys are.

2 or 3 years ago I would have gotten a good chuckle out of this thread.

But now MY baby is a Senior this year. That means next year it will be me that you all will have to comfort and console.

I fell for ya, sister. I really feel for ya!

I know exactly what you're going through sis......he'll be fine and so will you. Trust God to continually guide him in all his paths. :)

What field does your son want to enter after college?

God bless.

This morning I said goodbye to my baby son as he pulled out moving to Austin, TX to go to college. He should be arriving there around midnight tonight.

OH my Sherri, you made me cry...I just decided to call my oldest he is in the states doing deputation and that post made me miss him and his family and that grandbaby...Just wait till the grandbabies come and you have to kiss them bye...
Praying for you friend and I know you all have guided him to love God and he will do well in life. Blessings...

You will be fine - you really wouldn't want it any other way.

Sherri,
I went through this for the first time two years ago. I had the cleanest house you could imagine, because when I would be still, I would be sad. We bought a dog to help us transition!

Today, my middle child started college. It was sad, but much easier.
Ask me next year when the baby starts.

But there is a good side. We have become much closer as a family. I watch the kids growing into healthy adults and I'm proud of them. And, it has been great for my husband and I. We are like young sweethearts again.

I just keep thinking this all (hopefully) gets me one step closer to grandchildren, which excites me.

:sshhh

I sent my baby to college today! The webby is on his way to becoming a history teacher, along with preaching the gospel. He is in orientation right now. Fun, Fun, Fun. I will start back with him on Monday of next week. Keep us in prayer!!!!

I sent my baby girl off at 21 to Nashville from a little rural west TN town two years ago. New apartment, new school, new job, new church... and she did great. Like you, Sherri I felt I had put everything in her - with the help of her grandparents and a loving church family - to help her survive. It has been beautiful watching her grow, trusting God and spreading her wings and flying. She graduated two weeks ago with her Bachelors, maga cum laude, and starts grad school next week. The past two years MANY times we walked by faith, simply putting situations in God's hands and trusting for everything from finances to broken cars and broken hearts. And He's always come through -- lot of songwriting material for me!

Both of my daughters are out on their own, leaving me home alone with three cocker spaniels. But, when they do come home...it's the same! I love it!

I feel for you Sister Sherri.I remember the day my son went into the Navy.
I dropped him off at the station and hugged him and cried.He is a man though and I am so proud of him.That was eight years ago.The next one to graduate will be this year.She is seventeen and wants to go off to bible college and is so excited that the interns get to help with kids camps in the summer time.
I was thinking....wow that will mean gone all summer also.We just have to let
them grow.That bird has to be pushed out of the nest.It can be a good thing.

Well, last night we loaded the truck and about 11 pm I was ready to go to bed, exhausted. Zac came downstairs and asked if I would make some sweet tea because he was out of Dr. Pepper's. So I made a gallon of tea, and cried the entire time, just because I knew it would be the last time he did that.

I decided that Mom's just need to be needed. When your last one leaves, you suddenly realize that no one needs you anymore. It was a very hard thing for me today. We are in a hotel and Zac and his friend and cousin are spending the first night in his new apartment. Tomorrow we will take the other two boys back to Jackson with us and leave him alone.

Thanks for all the encouraging words!!

I can't believe you and Eddie came to my town and didn't even call us!!! We could have eaten dinner tonight. My daughter played the guitar and sang at Acoustic night at a local Mexican restaurant. There is a lot of great talent in Nashville of course so we enjoy these acoustic writers gigs around town.

Oh, that won't be the last time he'll ask you to make a gallon of tea - - only the last time before leaving home.

He'll be home for visit, he'll be home for summers (maybe), he could even live back home - - - I just spent a great year with my son living back home and now he's moved in HIS home he bought and will be married in 46 days.

He called me at 11:00 last night and said "mom, I'm sick". They will always need us!

And husbands always need their wives as men are clueless in alot of areas.
I'm helpless without my wife around.

This thread makes me cry!

How cool. That's awesome that y'all are going back together!

I cried last year when we drove off and left Tabitha, my youngest at school for the first time. I cried this year when we left but it was a different cry - happy, bittersweet tears, because she was so excited.

Like Sherri said, we need to be needed and as a mom I didn't want to drive off that campus, but I was so glad to see her bouncing around excited to see her friends.

We went to Wal-Mart on Sunday evening after we moved her in and she told me that she was so glad to be back in the swing of things. I had to fight tears when she said, "I'm just glad to be home." I know our home will always be home, but just the fact that she now views Lee U as home makes me feel good and sad at the same time....

I got "mom, I'm sick" call one morning about 1:30 a.m., by 2 I was headed to N'ville. It's amazing how quickly you can get there when the "baby" is sick!

Absolutely!

I woke up at 2:00 a.m. this morning and I NEVER do that....so, I prayed for him asking God to give him rest and tough him. For a moment, it hit me that I had become my mom......

I couldn't get back to sleep, so as I laid there relaxed, but wide awake I thought how I called my mom everytime I was sick and many times she would make the trip to St. Louis to watch the kids for me or if they were sick she would so I didn't have to miss work. I miss that, but know I am that mom.

See, Sherri - - - things change, but they always need us as moms!!!!

And you will get the chance to make him sweet tea! My daughter calls me all the time telling me her "cravings" for everything from my chili, tuna salad, chocolate oatmeal cookies, chicken & dressing....and yes, even SWEET TEA! So when she is home or if I'm there - "mom" fixes whatever fixes the cravings.

We'll always be needed because THEY will never be able to make it just like mom did.

Haddock, your post reminded me of something my daughter told me the last time she was home. When she was a little girl (four years old until around 12) when we would go out to eat she would never order something to drink. It would drive me nuts because then she'd end up drinking mine.

She told me the reason she did that was because my drink always tasted better than when she had her own - -- - lol! I thought that was too funny and she NEVER said a thing about it when she was doing it.

I was so nasty and sweaty that I didn't even go with them to eat; Eddie took the three boys to some nasty Chinese buffet by Demo's. I was glad that I stayed at the apartment instead! Next time, we'll call!!!

I STILL have to fix my daughter's "brown coffee". (coffee with sugar and cream). She says she still can't fix it like I do. And what's weird is I drink mine black and never really know if I've fixed it right. Guess I do!

The good Chinese buffet on that street (Broad) is called Chef Wangs. It is a bargain and pretty good. Sounds like they may have went to the other one I have seen on Broad but never been brave enough to try because it looks pretty rough.

The Mexican restaurant that has the acoustic night is nothing to write home about but the food is decent.

Demos is good and Toots just down from it on the other side of the street has great chicken tenders, hamburgers, and cajun chicken salad.

Murfreesboro also now has a Bonefish Grill, Carrabbas, and Chop House not to mention a Blue Robin with incredibly expensive but good gourmet hamburgers.

Uh, did you mean Red Robin???? We have one of those here. I haven't seen the part of M'boro with the Bonefish or Carabbas, and I love both of those. All I know is exit 78-B and how to get from there to MTSU, and then I know Demo's and Toot's because we've eaten at them both. Where is Allen Jackson's church? I saw a church really close to Zac's apartment/MTSU called Victory Christian Center. Do you know anything about it?

LOL!! Yup, I meant Red Robin. Right by toots Medical Center Parkway crosses over Broad Street. If you took MCP toward IH24 you would come to an intersection where on three of the four sides there are those restaurants (Carrabas, Red Robin, Bonefish Grill, and The Chop House) not to mention also a Pei Wei.

There are also some cool little places downtown to eat. On the square there is a nice restaurant (a little expensive) that my daughter raves about but I have not been to yet.

Maybe one time when you and Eddie come to visit your son we can just grill some good steaks here at my house and visit.

Sounds great, although I would have to convince myself it would be better than Pei Wei, since that's one of my favorites, right up next to Ghengis Grill!!

By the way, CC1, I called Victory Christ Center, and they only run about 45 on Sundays and the guy told me that they don't have any MTSU students, which is really sad, considering they are about three blocks away. I don't think Zac would like it, although it is a Rhema (Spirit filled) church. I read Allen Jackson's statement of beliefs, and it definitely doesn't sound Spirit filled. I heard that Bethel from Nashville has started a church there that is on Park. Not sure where that is either, but Ashley loves attending Bethel and it might be more in line with what we are.

I have never been to Bethel in Nashville but they have a great reputation. Especially in their services being geared towards young people.

I plan on giving Allen Jackson's church a 2nd try on some Saturday night just to see if maybe it was an off day when I was there. I believe WOC is considered a Charismatic church but there was zero and I do mean zero worship when I was there that mother's day Sunday. I was very surprised.

Their main auditorium seats 900 and the two other ones 450 each. Newspaper article says they run 5,000 on weekends but that seems pretty high unless Saturday nights are packed out.

They are in a building program wanting to add 125,000 sq feet and a new auditorium. I can't remember what it seats but it was not that many. I think maybe just 2200 so evidently they plan on having a lot of services or simulcasting in the new and old sanctuaries.

My son-in-law owns a top level restaurant in Murfreesboro called "Five Senses". Check it out sometime, but it can get expensive! :)

He also just leased a place in the Murfreesboro downtown square to be a gourmet pizza restaurant. He plans to have live bands perform there on a nightly basis. It should open in about two months.