college

  • |

    The Quiet Crushing of Graduation

    Every year, millions of American families send their children off to their freshman year of college. Their pictures dot our social media feeds. Images of excited students holding collegiate pennants, maybe wearing a hat or holding up their school’s hand sign with beaming smiles. Their parents post excited words about futures and hopes and dreams. So why am I struggling so much? Why does this feel more like a loss than a gain? Why are my tears always on edge, threatening to spill over each time I think about August and what it will bring?

  • |

    Holding on Before the Year of Letting Go

    Light shone down from a cyan sky as we parked the car in the college admissions lot. It was a beautiful day. Seventy degrees. Sunny. February in Texas is like that. It can be the best of times, and it can be the worst of times. Thankfully, it was the former. 

    Ochre rays warmed our skin as we walked toward the building. He was all smiles. Confident yet humble. He gave a firm handshake. He spoke with a mixture of assurance and nerves. And I wondered, when did my little one who used to delight in dump trucks and mud puddles grow into this? When did the child who was obsessed with a certain tank engine mature into the young man who now sat beside me speaking of his hopes for the future? When did my little boy become a young man with only a year and a few months left at home?