This is a hard time for everybody involved. College-aged kids barely have any idea what they’re doing, and the parents of these kids aren’t used to not having them around the house all the time. Whether the child has moved out or not, they’re moving on and making a life of their own, and this is hard for a lot of parents to accept. So I want to talk to you guys about it.

First things first, we will always be your baby. Even if we aren’t home as often or have acquired the mouth of a sailor (sorry, mom), everything we have learned in our short 20ish years on this earth is thanks to you guys. I, personally, have no idea where I would be without my parents, and now that I’m getting older, I hear my mother come out of my mouth or see my dad in my sense of humor more often than I may like to.

Secondly, please don’t lecture us anymore. We no longer need to be reprimanded, let us learn some things on our own, as adults. Advice, however, is surely welcomed. Let us know what’s best for us without making it sound like we’ll be grounded if we go a different route. You’ve been around much longer than we have, and the experience under your belt makes you much more enjoyable to talk and rant to than most people our age. That is, until you either: A. Make us feel stupid for being young and naive, or B. Use your parental power to guilt us into doing something you and we both know is not what we want in our hearts.

Now to touch on a topic that some son/daughter-parent relationships are better off not discussing: alcohol. If you have a college-aged child, they more than likely consume alcohol, I hate to break it to ya. But at this point in life, it’s best to accept this. This doesn’t mean you have to advocate it and buy us beer every time you go to Walmart. Just let us know that you understand, so that we won’t be afraid to call you in the case that we don’t have a ride because everybody’s drunk and we don’t want to get in the car with a drunk driver, or other similar situations. And if we do feel comfortable calling for your help, don’t make us regret it by reprimanding us for it (hence: see paragraph 3).

And last but not least, moms and dads, we are so damn happy to have finally reached the age where you’re not only our parents, but our friends. It felt like the road to 18 would never end and like we were going to be lectured and grounded for our whole lives. But with your child becoming an adult comes the realization that we are not only your offspring, but we’re our own person as well. We have lives outside of the walls you built for us, but family will always come first, and we will always remember what home is.

***A sidenote to the kids becoming adults: Don’t forget that while you’re growing up, your parents are growing older. You’re not the only one going through new things every day.***

Thank you, mom and dad, for everything you’ve done and everything you continue to do.

Love,

Your “Child”