Because I don’t even know where the beginning is at this point.
We got keys and ID’s and sat in awe that our little girls are now college students.
Love all that family we get to be related to up there!
We walked around campus with Allie, my other sis-in-law’s daughter who graduated last year and has a year of college under her belt:
(Love you Jaylee!) These four are best of friends. Love that they have each other.
It was kind of strange walking with our little band of family around campus trying to find classes, etc. because it was SO different from when we dropped off Max last year. In the Fall (when Max started there), that place is bursting at the seams with kids flooding in. Summer is way more low-key and I think these girls are going to LOVE it.
I only got to be there for one day (flew back that night to get home in time for Father’s Day), but we covered a lot of ground that one day. Elle and I grabbed some bedding at IKEA, got extra supplies at Target, got those girls all moved in, and had a great little walk around campus.
My favorite part was when, after we figured out meal cards and classes and we were walking around surrounded by those gorgeous Provo mountains, Elle started singing, “I think I’m going to like it here” from Annie and got it all stuck in our minds for the rest of the afternoon.
And she’s right, I think she’s gonna like it there.
A lot.
Right as I was leaving for the airport we ran into one of Elle’s best friends from elementary school who moved away:
…and then a whole posse of kids from here in the desert,
…and then said goodbye to these cute girls in their still-partially unpacked dorm room:
And then I headed out.
As I sat in at the train stop with that pretty view above, ready to catch the train to my last plane of our trip, my heart spilled out some pretty teary-gratitude for that girl. For our boy. For our three little girls I was heading home to hug. For my husband who we were getting ready to celebrate the next day. For cousins. For this beautiful world. For family. For God.
The next night, Father’s Day (happy late Father’s Day, everyone, BTW!), Dave and I got a great letter from Max, and then laid in bed while Facetiming Elle in her new dorm room after a great Sunday.
I’m reading a memoir right now about a lady who has cancer, and finds out her dad has it too. She tells of a woman who was trying to explain that she should let go of attachments so she could alleviate much pain and suffering in life. Attachments to things and to people. She goes on to explain that she would take the pain and suffering of loss over and over again to be able to enjoy the beauty of attachment.
I’m not even sure what point she was trying to make, but it just so happened that I read that chapter right in the midst of all this “letting go” business and as Dave and I lay there that night, still reflecting on Max’s most recent letter and watching Elle explain her day in the midst of brushing her teeth (ha!) I felt more grateful than ever before for attachments. Specifically with this family of mine. And that even though loving them so much over all these years causes my heart to burst letting them go, I’m grateful for every part of those attachments that make my heart tighten as they leave and learn and grow and become.
Good luck Elle Belle! We love you so!
This got me all teared up. What a sweet and simultaneously wrenching time! Thank you for sharing!
I went to BYU Provo for the first time Summer term. It was one of the best Summers of my life. My closest friends 30 years later are some of the girls I met that Summer term. Glad you were able to figure out a way to get her into BYU Provo.
Love that L,
And happy to notice more and more how much she is like her MOM!
She is going to have the most amazing experiences in Hawaii! Can't wait to read about it! I'm hoping the military will eventually station my husband there so we can get a little taste of paradise – or Arizona for the desert! 🙂 Congrats to you on raising such amazing kids to send off into the world!
Kourtney @ http://www.themartinsandthemarines.com
Curious why so many start summer term. Another blogger I follow dropped her son off there as well. Looks like Elle's got a great support system and will have a wonderful summer term.
So fun to read about your kids adventures out and about. Somehow it settles my mind a little as I am in baby mode and sometimes dread the older years. You share such joy it gives me hope! I just started reading a book called "hold onto your kids" by Gordon Neufeld that is all about the power of attachment. It is so good. I would be interested in knowing the title of the book you read.
So glad to see what happened when we couldn't be there! That girl is going to have a sensational summer!