Linda Miller: The girl is off to college

Aug 11, 2023

Well, the girl is off to college. We’ve moved her in. “We” consisted of me, her birth mother, her mother’s ex-boyfriend, and Kya’s boyfriend. The odd couple of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon had nothing on us!

Our little caravan got in the unloading line a little after 7:00 a.m. It was awesome! When a car would get to the front of the line, a swarm of cheerful students, professors, and staff descended on it.

“What room number?” And suddenly everything that had been packed was whisked out of the car and up to room 105 or 315 or whatever. Wow!

After arranging the beds, dressers and desks to allow for maximum floor space and efficiency, the unpacking began. Two trips to Walmart later, we finally had Command strips, tacks, binders, looseleaf paper, copy paper, ink cartridges, scissors, spiral binders, and so forth.

Her mother was the designated decorator, and she got a sheer curtain, fairy lights, clips for them, a case of water, and chips galore. And may I say it looks darling. Like a shades-of-blue wonderland.

No, I did not cry. This is not my first rodeo. I cried when my oldest son went off to college. Besides, I had a training session when Kya went to Virginia for a month this summer.

A friend from church said she did not cry either. They took their oldest child to Oxford a couple of weekends ago. When they got back home, she said she did her nightly routine of looking in on the children when everyone got in bed.

Teenage daughter: check. Youngest son: check. But Whit’s door was ajar and he was not there anymore. Then she cried.

Another friend in Virginia said she cried for about 20 miles on the way home from dropping off her only child at college.

She said she still goes into his room to sit on his bed when she misses him. He is almost 30 now.

Our lives will be so different from now on. She used to come into my room at night and we would talk about everything. She would call me and see if I wanted anything from McDonald’s. Kya and the dog danced when she came home from anywhere, and it was so much fun to watch. She is going to try to find a church in Clinton.

I am so proud of her and excited for her future. Mississippi College has a mission to welcome all students and facilitate their academic paths. She is on their prayer list.

I cannot imagine a better place for her to be in college. But I am sure going to miss that girl!

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