Wow, so that was harder than I expected.
Bus kid packed the Corolla and left for Year Two at college in Ohio today. Last year we borrowed a friend’s SUV and made the trip with her. She’s the only child, and if I may say so (although many others would) - virtually perfect. Brilliant, beautiful, positively unflappable, non-teen dramatic, innovative, funny. Poor kid’s going to make some man totally miserable trying to keep up some day.
But I digress.
Last year was hard, especially at the moment of release there in the parking lot of the Student Union. Days later, we were comfortable. She had a tough few weeks of adjustment, but she’s done great. In fact she was more eager to go this summer than to stay here.
What was hard today was that not only was she leaving for school, but that she was leaving a house she’ll never live in again, a house full of incredible memories for her. We’ve only lived here four years, but this is the home I grew up in.
The home that she spent grandpa’s final summer with right before she started 1st grade. She was closer to him than any other single person in her life. Until months before he died in 1992, she was the only grandchild. Kid got everything. Mostly time and attention. And love.
Four years ago this past March, when my mom announced she was selling and moving to Tucson, bus kid just lost it. Not because grandma was moving across the country, but because STRANGERS were going to be in grandpa’s house. No shit.
You see what comes now right? We buy the house, and spent $7000 converting grandpas office into her bedroom in the basement.
She finished high school here, and left for college from here. Our plan was to get her through college then start to look for something else. Around February though, we found some new homes we loved about a mile or so from my work, and decided we could pull it off. But we didn’t sign anything til we ran it past her. After all, the whole damn reason we were in this house was because of her.
She saw the new place and said, if we wanted, she was ok with selling grandpa’s house. It had served it’s purpose, we made our own memories here, but it never felt like “ours”.
This summer saw a rash of meetings with banks, the builder, etc. Things here got sorted and tossed. We’ve been packing in earnest the last couple weeks, because we move on the 31st. Poor kid had to pack for two moves: hers back to school, and her room for the house move.
I must be stupid because it hit me only this morning when I saw the look on her face as she was turning out the light in her room. We have two weeks to adjust, but today she left the house grandpa tossed her around on her knee in, the house that she spent that last summer riding on his scooter with.
Her cat Marty had a tough time last year watching her pack and leave. At least then he could sit on her bed after she left and see her stuffed animals and things. Today he avoided her and hid in the empty closet in her vacant room.
It took her 20 minutes to compose herself snough to be able to start the car and drive. We’ll follow in a couple days with what she couldn’t fit in the Corolla, then come back here to finish packing and moving. The next time she’s out this way will be Labor Day weekend, the day after we move, to unpack her room at the new place.
How much you want to bet she takes some time to drive out here and look at the place with the new owners in it? Thankfully, we know them. Our neighbor’s daughter is buying the place. She grew up around the corner and knew grandpa too.
Life goes on huh?
