I'm dropping off my youngest and then I planned a trip. Hopefully I won't be crying on the airplane.

It was my hardest moment of parenting driving away after dropping my oldest at college. But every day became easier (and as PP mentioned, they come home often and you go to them for parents weekend) and then it gets easier and easier. Just prepare for a very difficult drop-off and it will get much better very soon after.

It was a pretty melancholy first few months for me. DD just finished her first year of college and is staying in her college town for the summer with a cool internship so I’m really happy for her. I super miss just a daily sense of how her life is going and the conversations we have. The upside is in some ways I think she’s willing to share more with me than if she were in the house. We never talk on the phone but we text a lot, most days at least a bit, she comes to me for advice, she makes an effort to come home and see family. I think this is all the impact of being further away and appreciating those relationships.

PP here, forgot to mention that I planned a trip to Paris over Christmas break as something to look forward to and to have fun planning while my kids were at school. It was a great thing, that really brought us back together after that first semester away.

The first 6 weeks are the hardest, then we had fall break and then the length of time until Thanksgiving is pretty short and they started exams pretty much right after they got back to school. It went pretty quick from late September on. Spring semester seemed longer, but again the summer has been wonderfully long and I have enjoyed spending time with each kid just like the "old days"

I went and helped my DD moved some stuff into her new apartment at school yesterday, shopped, had lunch and many laughs and then came home and watched a movie with my DS. So yeah, they don't just disappear forever.

Not going to lie: It will be rough. It’s the signal of a shift that things are changing. This time together is over, and that’s that hardest part. But you will get through it. The first semester will be the hardest. But again, you will get through it and appreciate the winter and spring breaks. They’ll be home in the summer. And you’ll enjoy watching them take on new experiences.

Be gentle with yourself this fall. Hang in there.

—mom of a college junior

I had twins to last fall (my only kids) so yeah that was tough. I just tried to busy myself but I was lucky, my kids stayed in touch a lot as we are close. I was close enough to visit and they were always happy to have me come and take them to lunch on a Saturday so I did that a few times each semester. It went pretty quickly is this summer, but it is just life. I still have a great relationship with them and treasure the time I see them, just get pretty bored when they are not around so that’s why I started up some new hobbies.

I understand how you feel. I have 2 kids. When my oldest left for college 2 years ago, I missed her but still had my youngest at home keeping me busy. Now that he will be soon leaving for college hundreds of miles away and with no more kids at home, I feel a pang of sadness. It is bittersweet. Sweet because I understand it is the natural order of things, to see them grow up, become independent, and move on with their lives. Bitter because it's the end of an era where they no longer depend on you in the same way and your role as a parent and relationship with them has forever changed. Hopefully, if I've done my job as a parent, they will be good people and I will always have them in my life but I will miss the day to day interactions, and yes, even the daily frustrations. As the saying goes, the days are long, the years short. It's a reminder to us that we must try to live in the present and enjoy the time we have with them.

Keep your house rules lax and treat him like an adult when he visits so he will want to visit more. Also don't turn his bedroom into a craft room if you want him to come back.

I'm dreading it too. I'm a single mom and my DD is the person I am closest to, so it's going to be a huge adjustment. I know we'll talk a lot and she's only going to be a few hours away, so at least at first, I'm sure we'll see her pretty often.

I am trying to focus on the positives for both of us, like increased independence for her and for me, getting to spend more time with my younger DC. I've also filled up my schedule to keep busy -- I'm ramping up my volunteer work and starting graduate classes in addition to working full-time.

I think it's appropriate to "mourn" or reflect on the end of an era in your life. When my first kid left, I was a wreck because it represented the beginning of the end of my child rearing days.

The reality of it was so much better than I had imagined - weekly conversations, many trips home, new-found appreciation for our family and now a closer relationship than before. In my mind, I imagined he would never live at home again because that's what my path was, but instead he has been home all summer even at 21.

Now is the time to focus on yourself and creating a new rhythm to your life which will take time, but having college age kids, in my experience, has been much richer than I had expected.

I am dreading it.

I'm sure everyone is different - it wasn't that hard at the initial part, though because my DS went during covid, I didn't see him at all September-November his first year.

It is easier than sleep away camp, in my opinion, because at sleep away camp, there is zero communication.

My DS and I now text and facetime and I certainly can visit more often. My DS told me yesterday he is happy we are seeing him 3 times first semester (we have a labor day weekend family trip, then family weekend at school, then Thanksgiving). We see him a lot. Then he'll be home several weeks before spring semester.

And I'm proud of him and glad he is doing what is the perfect step in his life - I'm happy he is where he is supposed to be.

Everybody is different, OP. For me, honestly, it was very very hard. But it wasn't the loss of having those everyday conversations, but the loss of his childhoold and it all being over. It's been almost a year and I am still pretty depressed about it I don't have any advice, but maybe it won't be as hard as you think. Good luck!

In the beginning he will come home often. Fall break and parents weekend and TG and Christmas. It will seem like you are just about to see him all the time. Over time he will stay at school more or make his own break plans but you will be more used to it at that point.

My only child will be leaving for college in just over a month and it is breaking my heart at the thought of him not being around day to day. The older he’s gotten the more I actually enjoy him as a person so it feels like a huge loss. I know this is a normal part of life and part of important growth into an adult but emotionally knowing that the concentrated time I have with him is coming to an end makes me very sad. He has been to sleep away camps in the past where I didn’t have contact with him for weeks, but I knew I would get him back after that. I know he will likely still text me most days, and we will talk on the phone, but I will miss the day to day incidental experiences and conversations. For those of you who have gone through this, how hard is the separation really? Am I working myself up over something that won’t be as hard as I think it will be? Any words of comfort greatly appreciate it!