My Heartfelt Message For Parents Moving Kids To Dorm

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Can’t believe this short and sweet…or shall I say bittersweet…video below was shot three years ago!  That went by fast!  For those pensive parents about to move a beloved kid out of their familiar and loving home into a new and unfamiliar dorm room, this sweet memory of mine…and some encouraging words are for you! 

My son’s surprise dorm room essentials kit put together by his sweet girlfriend and by me. Guilty of placing his face sign there! That was me and he loved the surprise…except for the face poster. LOL!

I made this short 1:30 video (shown below) of move-in day two years ago.  Watching it again instantly brought back those emotions, a funny mix of heartfelt sadness and excited joy with a little worry and a lot of reflection mixed in. 

I am wishing all of you moms and dads a smooth transition for your kid.

And for you, too. 

It is so exciting and you will feel like you may want to go back in time and go back to college for a minute or two!  You will laugh a lot and have fun with the milestone move.  

But…don’t forget the Kleenex.  Sigh.

The good news is that three years later, our son is doing so well!  He is thriving, loving college, working in terrific internships and will now be a senior at ASU.  I had heard that college goes by even faster than high school does for both the kid and the parent.  It is true.

Hang in there parents!  

tissues

A pack of tissues given to me by beloved gal pals for this big day. Yes, I used them 🙂 🙁

Bittersweet (which is also the name of the song I chose for the video).  Here is what I experienced…

Tons of fun.  Different.  A relief because he has been ready and it is time for this new chapter.  Meeting new friends & enjoying lunch with his roommate’s family.  Joy.  Laughter.

A few early morning tears from me.  But then I was A OK 🙂 Waking up knowing that today is the day.  Doing it. Feeling it. Feeling so dang happy for him. Driving. Unloading.  Posing for pics.  Saying “see you tomorrow” as we have family welcome college events to attend this weekend.

So how did it feel?  How did I do?  The answers are in this short video (only 1 minute 30 seconds…a record for me) that I put together today as I put this special day in the memory books.  Bittersweet but oh so much fun!  Enjoy…

in dorm

Here’s to a smooth move to the dorm.  Here’s to your kid!  Congrats!  And here’s to you parents.  Congrats to you, too.  I am reminded of two phrases that touched my heart that I now extend to you.  With this first one below, I would add to it that you are still needed.  Just in a different capacity as your child becomes a college student and young adult…

 

And this one that is so darn true…

 

But I do have good news!  You adjust.  And your kid grows up and really adjusts.  For us, seeing our son happy in college rocks.  Observing him loving his summer internship is so great!  And now just months away from graduating college in December is a whole new joy.  It is wonderful!  However, I know you all aren’t there yet.  So good luck with the move.  Take it all in.  It is another huge milestone that you helped to create for your child.  And it is pretty fun to get to be there to watch your offspring take that next big step into a new dorm room.  Cheers!  And I say that with the added suggestion of having a cocktail after you leave the college.  Hugs to you!