Is this your last child at home? Suggestion, especially if it is: Strengthen the bond with parents/families from HS that you will want to keep in touch with after the kids have moved on. Many you will not run into much otherwise.

Have done it twice, and i was a little sadder with the 2nd than the 1st but adjusted quickly. The 1st went to a SLAC where they had a parent/student reception in the afternoon after move in and made it clear this was the time for parents to leave and kids to go on to an orientation activity. It was a good approach and didn't allow for lingering. As others have said, we drove there (it was only 2 hours away), moved in, went to Target, I guess ate lunch, went to the reception and drove home.

Kid 2 went farther away so we drove out and spent the night, moved in the next morning and did the target run and lunch, and then left DC to go on to some scheduled activities. We had to spend that night there but ended up going to a major league baseball game which was a fun distraction. Drove home early the next morning.

In both cases the kids were home for fall break and we were there for parents weekend so it was literally only a few weeks before we saw them again.

Drop off was emotional for me. I/we got used to the new normal in the house pretty quickly. While the drop offs became much quicker as the years of college with each year, that Fall drop off always made me sad. It could have been the distance.

It was fine. I met the roommate, we took our kids to the local Target/Bed bath & Beyond to buy stuff they needed, paid for the rental mini fridge, helped unpack and set up, went out to lunch, chatted with roommate's parents for 20 minutes and exchanged phone numbers, gave the kids cash, and left.

We were probably there a total of four hours.

It was much easier than I thought. Didn't cry at all, DS didn't have a ton of things. He was fine on move in day, next day he was kind of anxious, and eager for me to leave, but we had a nice lunch together.
I went to Super Walmart and bought him snacks and extra blanket and few other things, he complained that I shouldn't have, but it turned out it was all good and he liked it. If anything, he was ready for college, and it seemed I was fine with it. I am pp who asked about dorm kit. The only thing is, DH is overseas, so it is teen DD and I, and my job contract was over in mid June, and now I am coming up with house projects non stop.

I'm very close with my new college kid and miss him terribly; cried when I left. But honestly, I'm surprised at how much I am rolling with the new normal. I'm a total sap so this is really a shocker. Enjoying spending time with the 1 kid left at home, text college kid frequently, even getting along better with spouse.

Dropping our first off was REALLY emotional for me. Second one, less so. Last one (next year), I can't quite imagine what that will be like. Either really sad or really happy. She's ready to go but I"m not ready to let go of this phase of my life.

We just dropped our last one off this past weekend.

TBH, there was no emotion (from us) about any of the three. Although number 2 was tough because she went to school on the West Coast. The other two went less than a 4 hour drive. I think we kind of realized that we had raised them such that this step was a natural progression. We were excited for them, they saw that and it helped them. Sure, we have had sleepless nights where we miss them, but we are also taking advantage of new opportunities as empty nesters.

The biggest challenge for us was dealing with their homesickness and the new thinking about not letting them come home at first.

Anonymous wrote:I've been crying every day since my daughter left for college. She was my only child, and now the house is empty and I am alone.

I hope peace and happiness comes back into your life soon. While I understand why you are sad please don't your DD know how sad you are because she might feel guilty. Can you start new activities and meet more people? Take a class? Maybe travel?

Good luck!

I've been crying every day since my daughter left for college. She was my only child, and now the house is empty and I am alone.

Anonymous wrote:It was less emotional than I had expected with our daughter. We carried everything up, helped her get her bed and desk set up, and met her roommate's family. Then we ran to Target for a few things she'd forgotten, picked up her books, took her out to lunch, and headed home. The school had lots of activities planned for the afternoon/evening. I was happy/excited for her but not sad.

We still have 2 more at home; maybe I will be more emotional with #3.

My exact experience! I have been dreading this for years but when it actually happened it was great to see her in a place she loved and so ready to start the next chapter. I did tear up slightly when we hugged goodbye but I mostly kept it together because I didn't want her to be upset - and then once I walked away and drove back home with my husband it was all good. I have a younger one too who is just starting high school so maybe I will be more upset in four years but I tend to think it will be the same.

The other thing I will say to those who are still a few years out is that it's sort of "the long goodbye" as your children get older and take on more and more outside of the family (jobs, school, friends). My daughter was increasingly busy last year at school and often there until past 8pm working on theater productions and then working on homework till late when she got home. She had her own car and on weekends and all summer she had two jobs that began last April so it was a rare treat to see her and I was thrilled at how she managed both jobs and enjoyed the financial freedom that came with that. I still text her often and we are going to Facetime every Sunday so it's not a huge change in some ways!

One thing we did that I really liked was split off from the crowd/festivities/campus for the last meal together. Basically, we had a picnic on the waterfront (a couple of miles from the school).

Our whole drop-off was different from what I expected because DC did a Pre-O program at a remote location off-campus so we converged on her college rather than all traveling there together. And when we put her on the plane from home, we knew we'd be seeing her in a week. So it was a more gradual process. Still cried when we parted (wished I'd booked an earlier flight home. But DH and I drowned our sorrows in a great bookstore).

My DD is a senior now and with of the activities, testing, decionmaking, stress leading up to the moment, I've actually started to think it might be pretty anticlimactic. I'm really looking forward to it now.

It was less emotional than I had expected with our daughter. We carried everything up, helped her get her bed and desk set up, and met her roommate's family. Then we ran to Target for a few things she'd forgotten, picked up her books, took her out to lunch, and headed home. The school had lots of activities planned for the afternoon/evening. I was happy/excited for her but not sad.

We still have 2 more at home; maybe I will be more emotional with #3.

What was it like? Please share any random thoughts, experiences, and tips. I feel like crying. Drop off will be Sept 2018!