Two down...one to go!

The day every mother dreads/looks forwards to has come. My baby girl has left home in search of higher learning, independent living, and no curfew. Not only has she flown the coop, but my husband is off hunting this weekend, and my son is on a scout overnighter. I am all ALONE! Oh what to do, what to do...I can read my book without interruption, watch any sad or corny chick flick without being made fun of, I can crank up the christmas music and sew my christmas quilt without eyeballs rolling. I even thought about going shopping, but then I realized I save that trick for when I need to get away, and tonight I have no one I need to get away from! So, what have I been doing...

I wandered into Kayla's clean room to make sure the carpet was still the same color I remembered seeing about 10 years ago. It was, only now it has speckles of color through it. Pink finger nail polish, beige and black makeup, something purple...and I noticed a few pictures she left behind. Mostly pictures of when she was younger. There's one of her playing with her cousins at Liberty Park, sitting in a mud pit with Chelsea at pineview, climbing the tree in grandma's backyard, and my favorite picture of her when she was 3 years old, holding a doll that looks just like her.




Can you guess what I did after that? If you guessed something that involved a box of tissues, you would be right.

So now I'm spending my quality "alone" time feeling sorry for myself, wondering how I let this happen! How did she grow up so fast? When did she stop humming while eating? When did she start to flaten the curls and stop playing with dolls? Cuz I swear it was only yesterday...
But then I started thinking about all the positive things that will happen now that she's away to college, and I started to cheer up a bit:
1-50% less hair on the bathroom counter, floor, and shower.
2-Her room might stay clean for longer than a day.
3-No more staying up past midnight wondering where she is.
4-No more conversations with Tary that go like this: "Where's Kayla, is she home yet?" "Call her" "It's your turn to call her, I called her last time"
5-No more telling her to move her car so Dad can put out the garbage cans.
6-More room in the fridge with only 2 types of milk instead of 3.
7-She'll appreciate a good home cooked meal more.
8-She'll learn what it's like to share a room.
9-She'll learn that not everyone grows up in a home like hers.
10-And hopefully she'll appreciate more the home she grew up in.

And the only bad thing about her moving away to college, to grow up a little more, to experience life on her own, to learn how to be independant, is:

1-I'm going to MISS her like heck!

PS...kayla if your reading this and getting a little teary eyed, just consider it a little payback for the sweet little note you left me on my dresser that I just found. Excuse me while I go get some more tissues!