Letting Go: 10 Not-So-Easy Steps

My daughter leaves for college tomorrow.  She's my second-born so this isn't my first time on the Great Wheel of Emotional Feels--pride, loss, happiness, nostalgia, and grief sometimes all in one day. I know this is what is best for her, I know she needs to leave and experience the world (without her mother reminding her to take out the garbage), but that doesn't make it any easier. So I have to stop and remind myself what I learned from when the first-born left the nest.

1) Let them go.  This may seem obvious, but seriously, let them go.  Don't try to talk them into a year at the local community college or insist they come home every other weekend. They are ready (well, not ready-ready, but as ready as we were at that age).  They don't want your input and they will only resent your interference. Just let them go.

2) Cry.  I once teared up over a coffee mug in a Marshall's (because I thought my daughter would like it, and wouldn't it fit great in a dorm room...Wah! She's leaving me). It will come and go and come again.  Try not to sob around them, they don't need your emotional baggage--they need to go.

3) Shop. Apparently the way I approach any significant time away from my kids is to buy them stuff:  food, laundry hamper, just the right coffee mug. For some reason my psyche is convinced that they will be fine if they only have the right bath towel.  Whatever, it gives me something to do while I count down till move-out day.  And it gets me out of the house where I can sob in peace.

4) Pray. Pray that you will survive their newly revived adolescent attitude.  Something about that sweet smell of college freedom puts their attitude in over drive--everything you do is dumb, or boring, or parent-like compared to their impending campus life.  You will survive this.  Remind them who will be making those tuition payments, tell them to take the attitude down a notch, then go have a good cry in the department store (because they really need another set of bed sheets if they're going to be successful).

5) Delegate. Give them something to do.  Again, they are restless and moody and need to be out of your face (But not too far--you don't have much time left with them! But definitely in the other room so you can't see them roll their eyes.)  My daughter is currently painting our guest room--I'm paying her, mind you, because I really don't want to do it myself (and she's honestly does a better job than me). In the other room (I know where she is and that she's safe), not giving me attitude (because I'm paying her), thereby guaranteeing her safety. Win-win.

6) Silence.  Once they move out, do not speak unless spoken to (which is also how survived my son's  middle school years).  Let them have time to spread those wings, fall a little, and try again before you start badgering them with questions.  My son's first text message to me was two weeks after he'd moved out--he wanted to know if he really needed to separate his darks and lights when he did laundry.  What I read into that? "I miss you, Mom, and I wish I'd paid more attention to you while I was at home."  Yeah, he just had a laundry question, but whatever.

7) Cry (again).  Once they move out, you don't have to worry about upsetting them anyway.

8) Look. Now that you had a good cleansing cry, look around at where else you can put your energy.  Without the time spent on senior year activities (which I'm convinced are planned just so we parents will be happy to let them handle college on their own), maybe you could take up a hobby, rediscover your husband, have an adult beverage with dinner.  And hey, I still got one more kid at home! Maybe she and I can go for a mani/pedi and then go buy matching outfits at Forever 21.  Poor thing, she's going to be ready to move out by spring--too bad she's got 3 more years left of high school.

9) Enjoy. Yes, you miss them and you worry they're not eating right.  But have you noticed there are no longer wet towels on the bathroom floor?  And you can go all week on one jug of milk.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kids and miss them like crazy when they're gone, but I don't miss their bad habits. Even though I still have one more kid at home, I am now on the Easy Street of parenting--she can't complain that her other siblings don't have to do chores if they're not here. (And I've seen those pics you empty-nesters are posting of your last minute trips out of town, not a care in the world. I'm going to pretend you sigh heavily every time you come home to an empty house.)

10) Wait.  They will come back--sometimes just for Christmas vacation, sometimes because they're broke, but they will be back.  And they will be easier to talk to, and may occasionally clean up after themselves, and they might just even appreciate one or two of the millions of things you've done for them.  My mother once claimed sending her kids away to college was all worth it because when we came home we put our dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Yes.

This parenting thing doesn't get any easier, the problems just change. As I watch my daughter pack her stuff I just have to keep reminding myself that this is what we've been working towards for the last 18 years. She is ready.

Class of 2017

Today our high school seniors will be presenting their best works and lessons learned from their years at Lakewood to staff members and community volunteers.

I will be watching someone else's kid sweat through their 8-15 minutes, while my daughter presents to another group. She doesn't seem overly worried--after all, she's been doing Powerpoint presentations since 2nd grade. She has been preparing for this day since she was seven-years-old . She is ready.

Thank you, Lakewood School District for helping her along on this journey.

I've heard recent grumblings from other parents that the school district isn't what it used to be, that it is somehow failing their kids. From the beginning, my husband and I agreed that when it comes to public school, you get out of it what you put into it. They are one of the many members of your team when it comes to raising your child. Use them as a tool, be involved in your child's education, expect your kids to step up to the plate. A free and quality education may be our birthright as Americans, but you, and especially your kids, decide the outcome. Do not throw away your shot (quoting Lin-Manuel Miranda quoting Alexander Hamilton in his Broadway show "Hamilton").

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2017. You got this.

("Hamilton" reference thrown in there especially for my all-things-Hamilton obsessed, soon-to-be high school graduate. Go get 'em, Abbie.)

I Do Not Want a Wall At All

You say we need to build a wall,
without it our country will surely fall,
but I do not want a wall at all.

I don't want it with a tax.
I don't want it with alt-facts.
I don't want it if it's tall.
I don't want it if it's small.

I do not want a wall at all.

You tried to pass it off to Mexico--
they told you no and where to go.
I do not think it will even work
and it makes you look like a real big jerk.

I do not want a wall at all.

You say to trust you, we will see,
but it's a bad idea even if it's free.
You may think it's all your call,
but I'm not paying for your stupid wall.


I do not want a wall at all.

2017, So Predictable

Here we are, three weeks into 2017, first day of a new presidency, half-way through the first season of NBC's new show "This Is Us."  You might find yourself asking, "Kristin, what does it all mean? What can expect of 2017?"

Luckily, Kristin-damus, world-renowned psychic to the stars, has compiled a brief, but important list of what's to come this crazy new year.

In 2017 my middle child will graduate from high school and go off to college...and her mother will be a mess...my baby!  There will be tears, sleepless nights wondering of she's okay, anxious waiting for a call or text.  And then...slowly... we will all get used to this new situation.  She will gain more independence, I will learn to let go.  I will start storing stuff in her bedroom, maybe consider a new office space...But 2017 will be a year of growth.

At some point in 2017 some sports team will win big in some bigly sports-themed tournament-thingy that everyone will be really excited about...everyone but me.  The water cooler talk and Facebook feeds will revolve around that which is completely foreign to me.  (But then I will get to go to Costco on a Sunday afternoon and not have to fight the crowds and I'll be like "Yay sports!")

This year (if I have read the stars and plotted my charts correctly), will see Kellyanne Conway finally have a mental breakdown as she once again tries to put a positive spin on some crazy thing her boss has tweeted/done/claimed to have done or not done despite video footage that claims otherwise.  During a  live television broadcast, Ms. Conway's eyes will start spinning around in her head, she'll tear off her mic and storm off the stage muttering expletives as she plans her getaway to Tahiti.  And she will shave her head, à la Brittney Spears' 2007 tour.  (Okay, I just threw that last bit in there--but I think it would be a fitting way to break from the craziness of this political cycle.)

The character of Toby on "This Is Us" will come back from his major heart attack (where the show left us on a cliff hanger when they took off for the mid season break).  BECAUSE NOTHING BAD HAPPENS ON CHRISTMAS EVE! 

In 2017 famous people will die.  But WHO you ask?  Well, an older celebrity, one who's been struggling with addiction, and probably one who's been fighting some up-until-now undisclosed disease.  And a bunch of other not famous people will die, people you might know and love.  Because that's how life works, it ends whether you're ready for it to or not.  But babies will be born, to the famous and not so famous alike.  People will beat the odds against cancer, addiction, and the Lottery.

2017 will be the year that I don't get into swimsuit shape (as opposed to all those other years).  But this year it won't be because I forgot/was too lazy/discovered the hidden stash of Halloween candy.  No, 2017 will be the year of "If you don't want to see my tummy stop looking" shape.  I will wear that two piece if I want to, so nibble on your kale and drink your cleansing smoothie while I sip a cold frosty drink poolside.


2017 will be a year of great change.  A whole generation of young Americans have become swept into the political process and will not sit quietly now.  Women have decided that their voices need to be heard.  Artists and musician and actors, butchers and bakers and candle stick makers have woken up to an America they don't recognize, one filled with divisiveness and anger and ugly rhetoric.  Now all of us who thought things were looking okay--paying our bills, raising out children--are going to have to step up and get involved.  Sure it would be nice if our government were looking out for our best interests, but it seems it's time we start speaking up for ourselves.

Welcome to a new year and a new America.  Put on your seat belts--it's going to be a bumpy ride.