We just arrived back home this afternoon and I'm still amazed that it all happened so seamlessly. The only "forgotten" thing was a corded telephone for her desk, in case they lose power and she can't use her cell phone, and that was fixed by a quick trip to Radio Shack.
So, let's recap the last 4 days...
Friday morning, up at regular time and get the youngest 2 off to school (DD#2 is capable of waking up and getting herself off to high school by herself.) After getting the girls on the bus, DD#1 visited quickly with a couple of our neighbors while we started to load the car. Rather than putting the mileage on my (very recently repaired) SUV, we decided to rent one for the trip. Unfortunately it was a little smaller than mine and, naturally, not everything fit in the back or on the back seat with DD#1, so we had to improvise a bit. All the groceries DD#1 purchased in advance of her trip (we figured it would be easier - and cheaper - to shop here at home instead of in NYC) were moved from the large storage tote box and moved to the reusable shopping bags I gave her for her use while at school. Then we had to be "creative" with storing the remaining 2 storage bins of clothing, the kitchen-sized trash can (no, the room didn't come with one), the cleaning supplies (because she actually expects me to believe she'll keep her dorm room cleaner than her bedroom at home - ha!), bedding, etc. Finally, we were off for a lovely 500+ mile drive from our house to my brother-in-law's home, where we were staying for the trip. (He's beyond awesome to allow us to stay with him whenever we visit back east. Considering he's single and lives alone, it's got to be a HUGE culture shock to have guests and children at his house every time.)
Saturday morning, DH, DD#1, and I headed from Stamford, CT to NYC, and I remembered why I hated driving into the city. An approximate 45 mile drive should NOT have to take over 90 minutes. (Another reason I love living where I do in the Midwest is that this almost never happens here unless there's a horrible accident or tons of snow... none of which were factor on Saturday in NYC.) We were lucky to find on-street parking less than 3 blocks from the dorm. Score! Over two hours later, DD#1's side of the room was organized and unpacked. (Her roommate still hasn't moved in yet but I was nice enough to clean her side of the room as well, so she doesn't have to come in to dust bunnies in the corners.) All that remained was for a final trip to Ikea for dishes, cookware, etc. To my dismay, DD#1 didn't want to go with us, so DH, his brother, and I went up to the one in New Haven on Sunday morning, then DH & I (and my BFF's mother) drove back down to the city afterwards.
DD#1's dorm is really in a fantastic neighborhood. NYC's Upper East Side, on Third Avenue. The view from her room is very nice and the building is SO cool (24 hour security, full gym, laundry facilities, fridge and microwave in every dorm room and a full kitchen on every couple of floors -- DD#1's room is about 3 rooms away from the one on her floor, etc.) The only thing that would make it perfect is if her college or her dorm had a meal plan. Unfortunately, the school is a small fine arts college (less than 1,000 students!) and it's not feasible for them to offer one and the dorm is used by at least 8 different colleges around the city and it would be overwhelming for them to offer one. So, in what could be really good (or really bad, but I'm going to focus on the good) move, DD#1 is being forced to shop for groceries and cook her meals. In theory, it will be healthier and probably cost less; however, I'm afraid she'll decide to live on a diet of Ramen noodles and "Easy Mac".
And today was the lonely drive home. For the first time in years, DH & I were able to make the drive home in under 9 hours. And it would have been shorter if we didn't have a side trip to my favorite Italian bakery in Port Chester, NY (a girl's gotta have her NY deli-style hard rolls and I promised DD#2's boyfriend's mother a box of Italian butter cookies) and 2 pit stops for coffee (we packed sandwiches at my brother-in-law's house, so we didn't have to eat fast food on the road.)
Coming home was great (my sister and one of her adult children stayed at our house over the weekend and babysat DD#2, 3 & 4 because they started school already and I didn't want them to miss 2 days the first week.) My house was clean! They even cleaned up the mess we made when, at the last minute, we had to remove some stuff that couldn't fit in the car. Love them for that! Actually, I'm not sure "great" is the right word. Coming home to only 3 kids was definitely bittersweet. DD#1 is really an adult and is living on her own, albeit in a dorm, and while I'm happy for her, I'm still sad that she doesn't need me to make sure she's going to school and doing her homework and going to bed at a reasonable time. But watching her eat dinner on Sunday, knowing she prepared it herself, with her own groceries, using her own kitchen pots and pans and utensils really made me tear up. Her telling me about running to the market to buy some broccoli for a snack the night before was good. And when she told me that she found a Unitarian church (the faith she's been raised in since she was about 7 years old) near her dorm and that she's considering going to church while away at school choked me up big time, as she said she was "taking a break" from church earlier this year.
She's sweet, smart, living on her own, and grabbing life with both hands. She's doing something that I didn't do at that age (I lived at home while going to a local university when I was her age.) I'm proud of her! To think I had something to do with creating and molding this amazing young woman makes me choke up... again. This time next year is going to suck because it'll be both DD#1 and 2 going away to school. (Might be a good time to buy stock in tissue companies. lol)
And now I'm off to finish unpacking and doing laundry.
Good night!
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