The kids are back in school, my house is eerily quiet (save for the three-year-old playing happily with his toys), and I’m checking in after a whirlwind of a summer that included: an incredible visit from my four closest childhood girlfriends, a long and rather insane trip to California that was filled with all manner of misfortune (everything from a rash-giving caterpillar infestation to dead sea lions to car troubles to a kid’s torn ACL), and shipping THREE different kids off to college (two for the first time, one of whom is the owner of the torn ACL.) Kevin and I got back into Denver from our epic Washington, D.C./Dallas, Texas college drop-off trip on Sunday night, and the first day of school for my kids still here at home was on Monday, so needless to say life has been moving pretty fast.
Truth be told it was a whirlwind of a school year last year, for that matter, with two graduating seniors and all the college things. I’d say “It’ll be so nice to have a break”, except I have a high school senior this year, too, which means another graduate and more college things.
And yes I am aware that there are families where all the kids attend the same university, which makes a whole lot of sense. I’m honestly not sure why we have three different kids at three different universities in three different states, but we do. I suppose if nothing else it keeps life interesting, and gives us the ability to compare various things like city metro systems and restaurants and hotels and campus dining halls. Forget the Newman Guide—I’ve got all the inside information you’ll ever need.
This will, in sum, be a year of significant transition for our family. Children leaving for college is a bittersweet thing to be sure, but my perspective on it (two years into the parenting-college-students journey) is that there is far more sweet than bitter. I’m genuinely excited for my kids to leave for new adventures, and discover and pursue their dreams. Every one of them was ready to go, and although it heralds a new era and the closing of childhood, it also is the very thing that you’ve been preparing them for. Not to mention that the visits home and the phone calls and texts become so extra special, and the relationships between the siblings still at home full-time deepen and develop in new and, sometimes, surprising ways.
I will also add here that in our family, we do encourage our children to attend college, particularly because it is such a formative period in a person’s life. Moving into adulthood entails quite a bit of intellectual, spiritual, and emotional development, which university life is generally well-positioned to cultivate. Of course, I know not everyone agrees, and that is perfectly fine.
There is definitely a trend in some circles to downplay the importance of a college education, and while certainly not everyone needs or even ought to go, so far, I believe it’s been the right choice for my own adult kids. Two of the three are at private Catholic liberal arts universities, and the other is at a private nonsectarian liberal arts college. Each of them chose a school with a strong academic reputation, and each of them has earned some great scholarships and should graduate with little-to-no debt. And while I’m certainly no expert, I’m happy to answer any questions about our personal experience with college-related things if you have them!
Before I close, I wanted to let you know I’ve written a couple of recent essays, both related to womanhood, that are currently up around the internet:
The Dignity of Woman is Discovered in Living Life with Christ
How to Live Well: A Mother’s Reflection on Vocation
And I will definitely be sharing about our rather memorable (read: relatively disastrous but also somewhat hilarious) summer vacay with you in the days to come. Thanks, as always, for reading!