NEW CHAPTER .....OR NEW BOOK????

I can't decide. In many ways it is some of both... chapter and book. For both of us!

I cried.

For many reasons.

I cried with worry that I'd forgotten to tell or teach so many things he'd need to know about being on his own. I cried because I'd have given anything to be the one embarking on a collegiate adventure. I cried because I will miss him. I cried because I love him.

Mostly I cried because this was not what I had on my mind in that first instant I laid eyes on ... and fell in love with .... him 18+ years ago. I wasn't ready for this day to be here. It was much too soon.

We still had more Little League practices and games. We still had more homework to do. More science projects to complete. More scraped knees to bandage. More rehearsals to get to. More miles to put on the "taxi". More tears to dry after a break-up. More confidence to bolster after a bombed test.

And then there were no more. Today was the day.... no longer a little boy living at home with his mommy.

Did I mention I am proud of him? My college freshman!!

Now I need to "un-nest"... to purge. I agree it is the opposite of nesting before a new baby arrives, as my sister pointed out.

I want to get rid of all the tattered furniture that was never replaced because the boys were too rough and tumble for new. I don't need 4 extra beds. I don't need 5 night stands. I don't need all the chests of drawers. I don't need all the plastic drinking glasses that were collected from ballgames, school events, outings at fast-food chains, and 7-11. I don't need multiple clothes baskets in the laundry room for sorting which clean clothes go to which room. I can get rid of the faded beach towels, the grease-stained rags, the cans of touch-up paint "in case one of the boys nicks the wall", etc.

Yes, it is time to de-clutter.

Until the dust settles....