Moving On

Yesterday was "Move into Residence" day for our son. It's a big day in our family and for many, many families across the country. I won't try to estimate the number of students leaving home to attend University but I will say it must be a LoT. 

Our son is going to the University of Guelph only 2 hours from London which still seems a long way when he's never lived away from home. I've been looking forward to this day with mixed emotions for months now. I am happy he is looking forward to Moving On and enjoying the relative independence offered by University life. But there is a small part of me that can't help but worry because he is our 'baby' and I will miss him. 

I love his energy, enthusiasm and good humour. He makes me laugh and is fun to have around. On the other hand, he is a teenage boy. He is messy and up all hours making noise and disrupting my sleep. 

I used to sleep through the night before becoming a Mom some 24 years ago. I wake up at the slightest unusual sound in the house. It must be a 'Mom' thing because my husband isn't bothered until I wake him to complain. I fall asleep again easily enough unless I realize it's late and our son isn't home, then I worry. 

Our outside doors all make different noises which I can't help but hear when he's coming and going at odd hours. Plus our kitchen is below our bedroom, so I often wake up to the sound of late night snack prep.

My sleep has been disrupted now for a Very Long Time. I must say I'm looking forward to sleeping through the night. The only problem is better sleep comes at a a price. Our house will be quiet ALL the time.

I also plan to start cleaning this weekend. Our son is a typical teen and rather messy at home. As quickly as I clean, he makes another snack or tracks in dirt on his shoes or leaves his clothes in a trail behind him. 

Although I love a clean and organized house, I wonder if the house might seem too empty without him? I wonder if I'll miss his mess just a little?

I worried all week that he hadn't done much to get organized but I went ahead and did his laundry while he was out having fun with friends Friday night. I put cases in the hallway for him to pack and placed all his new single bedding in the large laundry bag. I figured he could finish packing in the morning before we left.

I was surprised to wake up at 2 a.m. to find his bags packed and ready to go. Of course when I got up at 6 a.m. to feed the cat, let the dog out and put another load in the dryer I noticed the drying rack was empty which prompted me to go through his bags. I didn't think his clothes could have possibly been dry in such a short time. I found one pair of track pants which were still damp. 

Overall I was super impressed with his packing. My messy kid folded everything perfectly and made efficient use of space in all his cases. In the morning, he refolded and repacked the towels I had put out for him. Here is the car all packed up including a little fridge which will be handy for their water, juice and snacks.

Here I am in his new room on campus. This is his bed and desk. The fridge fits between the two beds doubling as a night table. He has to buy an extension cord to plug it in. We offered to do it but he insisted he could manage. I think he just wanted us to Move On so he could start his exciting new life on campus.

He is in a triple room with a third bed through a door to the right. It's quite a spacious separate room. He and his friend requested to room together so they will be sharing this space and their roommate will get the more private space.

Our son insisted on unpacking everything himself. He and his friend have this big walk-in closet at the foot of their beds. Who knew he would be so fussy about his space.

Moving in took a mere 45 minutes even with a long line of slow moving traffic. Since we were hungry and our son was anxious for us to leave, my husband and I went to Borealis Grille and Bar for a delicious dinner.  

We even had cocktails to celebrate a successful day. Our dinner really was amazing. 

After dinner, we decided to return to the University to walk around. My husband and son had taken a campus tour in July but it was all new to me. When we arrived, we saw our son participating in group activities so we did what any respectful parents would do, hid in the bushes and took a photo from afar. He looked like he was having a great time which helped put my mind at ease. 

My husband showed me the new lecture halls built a few years ago. They really are very nice. I couldn't resist sitting and imagining what it would be like to be a student here.

This was taken outside the lecture halls. Also very nice.

The Bull Ring Coffee Pub looks really cool from the outside  but it closes early this week so I could not see inside.

I liked the view between these buildings. It leads to a large park and green space.

 This is the walkway through the park ... very pretty.

I think students did a good job painting this cannon in the school colours - red, yellow and black. Funnily enough our son was not impressed when I offered to crochet an afghan in these colours for his room. I was just joking with him... honest.

New students are wandering around in large groups all over campus. I also noticed the odd parent wandering around looking a bit bewildered and out of place just like us.

We headed back towards the residence our son and his friend moved into. I enjoyed our little campus tour.

We looked but didn't see our son again before we left. I'm not too worried, there are lots of new students away from home for the first time and they all seem to be having fun.

That's their room to the left of the open emergency exit. Their windows are at ground level and open to let in a bit of a breeze. They can see out but the mesh makes it impossible to see in - I checked. 

With our campus tour done, we headed back to London to pick up our dog from my parents, have a drink and fill them in on our day. 

Our son is growing up and Moving On. 

I am so happy he is happy, yet sad he is gone.

I will do what Moms do best. I will Carry On.

* * * * *

Well I better get ready. Did I mention we have a party to attend? It's a 50th Birthday for a friend. Cleaning can wait. Let's have some fun.

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