Oh my goodness...
DS22 is leaving for Chicago today. He will be working at a non-profit through Americorps. He has most of his worldly possessions packed into a rental truck. He and his college roommate are going to take 3 days to drive from DFW to Chicago to move my DS22 into his new 450 SF studio apartment, then his friend will fly to San Antonio next week where he is going to grad school.
I am nervous and scared and excited. DS22 just called me and was having a momentary breakdown in the laundry room. I told him everything would be fine and he would do great. He sucked it up and is grabbing the final things to head out of town.
Someone needs to tell me that I told him the truth and he will be fine.
He will come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we will visit over spring break and he will go with us on vacation next summer (TBD). His placement is only for 12 months, so he will get a job next fall or go to grad school. He wanted a year "off" / adventure and this is it.
It is just overwhelming at the moment and I feel like I am pushing him out of the nest. All good things, but it is breaking my heart.
On the other hand, by the time I was 22 I was married, had a baby, had graduated from college and been living on my (our) own for 3 years. I guess there is a big difference between going alone and going with someone you know has your back. KWIM?
He is going to text me when he gets to Little Rock...it is going to be a long afternoon.
It has flown by in one sense and been a long road in another. I think we are here by the Grace of God. The past 4 years have been full of many challenges and opportunity for growth and development. For the most part she has handled them well. It seems as if our job of guiding and serving as mentor and resource person is never ending. She has ended up loving Nursing, which we thought she would. So glad we didn't let her do the Undecided thing. She has 2 jobs in 2 different medical systems here in the Metro area and loves, loves, loves her job in the CICU. Funny because she really wanted a position in the Special Care Nursery. She loves her co-workers, they are young and energetic and have the patience to invest in her to get her up to speed. She took extra classes the first 2 years during summer term and added core classes at the Community College during her regular semesters to get them done so Sr. year has been very light for her. 9 credits in the Fall and 5 credits now. She has started studying for Boards and is now doing an on-line study review that is 2 hours per day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. The Monday after graduation she takes the Hearst review course and with any luck she'll be ready. Her manager has asked her to apply for a position so they can interview her. It would be a huge stress relief to graduate and already have a job. 
To those taking a few extra semesters, be thankful they are still on the path. So many of them are not. 
It seems as if there are many more challenges facing our young adults then when we were that age.
Holy cow! That's 3 times what I spent for my whole wedding! Yeah, I think a nice dinner buffet would be my choice, too.
