Dear College Mom,
Thanks for being the hip mom. Not the boring mom, but the kind of mom that brings gushers to the soccer game instead of apple slices. The kind of mom that lets you get the waffle cone instead of the wimpy kid’s cone. The kind of mom that plays tag with you on the play ground. You know right? THAT mom.
We are so similar yet so different. Here we are on the same campus with the same people doing a lot of the same things. However, I am just trying to figure out where to find my classes and how to finish my gen. ed. while you are talking about senior seminar and applying to “big-girl jobs.” Sure, you are only three years older, but considering college time tends to feel like it moves 10 times faster than regular time, three years is an awful long time. There are honestly about a thousand things that I should thank you for, so it is quite difficult to decide where to begin. But here goes nothing…
Thank you for your patience. No I do not know who that professor is, where my new classes are, or how many credit hours I should take.Yes, I do indeed need your opinion on literally everything. “Does my hair look okay like this?” “Should I go there?” “Do I really need to buy that book?” “Should I stay away from him?” Thank you for answering each question with more grace and patience than I probably deserve.
Thank you for supporting me. Everything from a difficult paper to a messy break up, you have been there to walk through the experience with me. Sometimes I need someone who has already been in my shoes to tell me that these seemingly catastrophic circumstances will not seem quite so catastrophic in time. I’ll live I’ll be okay.
Thank you for checking in with me. “Where are you going?” “When will you be back?” “Who else will be there?” “Who is driving?” Okay maybe I am not always super thankful when I am bombarded with a thousand questions the minute I start to head out the door…. but in all honesty, I really should be. Being away from home means all sorts of new freedom and all sorts of opportunities to get myself in some difficult and even dangerous situations. Thank you for always being the one who makes sure that I am okay before I even head out the door and for assuring me that I can always you if I need you.
Thank you for laughing with me. If I have learned anything this semester, it is that change is hard and college is harder. Some weeks are great and nothing but fun. However, other weeks I cannot help but feel like I am just hanging on. Thanks for helping me realize that even when I am drowning in a sea of assignments, practice, work, and way too many obligations to way too many people, there is still unending joy. I must admit that there is just something about laughing at that quirky professor, my terrible class, and the awkward experiences I get myself into that will brighten my day. So hey, thanks for reminding me not to take myself so seriously and giving me a reason to laugh.
Most of all, thank you for your humility and honesty. It takes a special person to admit where they went wrong and how they should have acted differently. Thank you for never failing to be that kind of person to me. Thank you for telling me your stories and sharing your mistakes so that I will not make the very same ones. You of all people know that sometimes I need a good warning. Let’s be honest, I would be a pretty lost college kid without you.
Thank you for making my freshman year a little less painful and a lot more fun. One year on the same campus is not nearly enough time, but you have much bigger and better things in store for you. Next year will look a whole lot different, but I will always be your college kid and you will always be my college mom.
Thank you. I love you. You rock.
-College Kid
