Hoping for a Gentle Homecoming

Just as most parents of college age children are saying their goodbyes to returning students, we are welcoming Aly home.

She finished her camp staffing job last weekend, and arrives home on this morning’s ferry.

Even though we’ve looked forward to this day for months, we’re keeping expectations low. She had to check in to the Juneau ferry terminal before 5:00 a.m. She might have slept on the ferry, but we imagine she’ll crash, and crash hard for at least the next few days.

I remember going home for visits during college. I’d feel exhausted as I resettled into my parent’s home, returning to my own bed at night. I always thought I had gotten sick, but my mother would remind me that I was relaxing thoroughly for the first time in a while. I imagine it’ll be even more intense for Aly, coming off six weeks of camp to the serenity of the “homestead.”

I’ll need to be patient with her. I will no doubt act like a puppy, camping outside her bedroom door, alert for the slightest sign of stirring within. Hopefully, I’ll be able to control that urge. I think I’ve managed to avoid being a somothering parent for the last 20 years, I don’t want to start being one now!

We won’t know until she arrives how long we’ll have together. She has many reasons to return south earlier than her school’s late start date at the end of September. We hope she’ll stay for at least a month. How ever long her visit, we know this: it won’t be nearly long enough for us, and whenever it ends, we’ll need to let her go with no regrets.

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2 Responses to Hoping for a Gentle Homecoming

  1. Jan Gill says:

    So eloquently stated, deeply felt ….. and I totally identify!! ( only now it is my grandchildren going to far away colleges and homes to live)

  2. Mark Zeiger says:

    Hi Jan! I didn’t know you read our blog–I’m so pleased. Welcome!

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