Emily Ann, College Student

To say that I am a little behind in my blogging updates would be an understatement. In my defense, this has been maybe the busiest summer of my life. We've had a LOT going on!

At any rate, I wanted to post an update about Emily since she is off to school now. I miss her terribly. I know she is having a great time which is a huge relief to me (I was also afraid she might be really homesick). We moved her down to college the 3rd week of August -- a loooong drive to North Carolina, but we broke it up by stopping at Sandy & Bob's on the way down and back which made the trip much easier to do. When we got to North Carolina we spent the night at Scott and Rachel's, and then Em, Kevin, and I got up early on Friday morning to meet up with Em's dad in Cary and then drive out to Greenville. It's an easy drive, didn't really even need the GPS we'd borrowed from Scott (although it did come in quite handy on our 2 trips to Target in Greenville). Em's dorm is not the prettiest on the outside, but inside is great. Her room is much bigger than I (and she) expected. They have a lot of storage as well which is good. My dorm room in college was a good size, but I saw some that were teeny, so I think she totally lucked out.

We were at ECU for a few hours before Tori, Em's roommate, and her family arrived. We had actually gotten Emily all unpacked and mostly settled in by then, and shortly afterwards Em was ready for us to leave. I couldn't believe how confident she was, and comfortable about us leaving. I think she really was eager to get started on the next phase of her life. I did pretty well all day, no tears in front of her, although when she was first signing into her dorm and getting her keys I got all choked up and had to turn away and blink back the tears. I know she would have been mortified if I cried in front of people.

When we left Kevin and I drove around the campus a little bit -- it really is a beautiful school. I waited a little while before texting Emily that I loved her and already missed her. We've kept in pretty good touch since she's been gone. I think we touch base almost every day either on the phone, texting, or emailing. Still, I'll be happy to have her home for Columbus Day weekend and be able to see that freckle face in person.