EMPTY NEST SCHMEST

So my son comes home from college for spring break tomorrow. And then, less than two months from now, he'll be home for the summer, having completed his freshman year at the University of Iowa.

Wow.  His first year of college has gone by so fast.

And they said I'd never survive the dreaded Empty Nest.

HA!  Showed them.

Pardon me just a moment as I pour my tears out of his baby shoes (sob, sob)... now, where was I?

Oh, yes...surviving The Empty Nest...

Nah!  I'm just kiddin' about the sobbing.  Well, let me clarify that. I don't sob anymore, and I haven't for some time...but I did shed many a tear daily for the first two weeks after we moved Daniel into his dorm.

The fact that I barely had time to say goodbye to Daniel because my husband threw me on a speeding campus bus, whisking me out of my son's new collegiate life and back to our home three hours away, did not help me in my transitional journey. Though, truth be told, I am sure it helped Daniel with his.

I mean, let's face it. No college freshman wants his weeping, overprotective mother hanging around too long after he's unpacked and ready to embark upon the best, most fun years of his life (sniff, sniff).

Come to think of it, dropping Daniel off at college was not all that different than dropping him off at his first high school Homecoming dance back in '07.

I remember he looked so handsome, all dressed up, a boutonniere adorning his lapel...

It wasn't until we pulled into his date's driveway, however, and Daniel escorted her to the car and opened the door for her that I felt my eyes begin to well with tears. 

I kept my composure until Daniel and his lovely date -- both looking so grown up -- started walking toward the school door, fairly well beyond earshot...at least half a foot...and then the dam broke.

"Oh, my God, my baby!" I sobbed.

My husband put the pedal to the metal, whisking me away from my son's first dance back to our home a couple blocks away.

And I wondered why Daniel never wanted me to take prom pictures...