This was a long 24 hours.  My daughter is safely set up in her dorm room at Baylor University.  We finally gathered her belongings together yesterday afternoon after a day or so of final preparations.  Getting to our hotel was a minor victory.  Nothing was lost during a three hour drive.  My son and I spent some time in the hotel pool before trying to get some rest.  Morning was going to come early.  Today was a reminder that summer may not end this year until Thanksgiving.  At least the usual Central Texas breeze blew at a decent rate.  I had enough coffee to at least get me going until the unloading got serious.  You have to give credit to the school.  They do have a pretty amazing thing going to help kids get into their new home away from home.

I pulled up to the street next to her dorm with my truck loaded with her stuff.  A large group of college students then rushed to help me unload every box or bucket we carried.  Each item was tagged with her dorm room and number.  Most everything was up into her room before I could even pull away from the curb.  This is the first year the school ran a shuttle bus from our parking area back to the dorm.  Whoever thought of that idea should be nominated for a Nobel Prize.  Thank goodness we rode back the half mile or so rather than walked across campus.  It did take several hours to assemble or find a resting place for clothes and supplies.  We finally pulled out of Waco close to 6:00 to start the journey to the house.  Arriving home was a reminder that it just was not the same.

So let me draw to a close by saying that I do not like this one bit.  Let me say that there is sadness but it isn't a sharp pain.  My grief is more like the dull toothache that gnaws at you.  But let me add that this is one of the things life is all about.  We do try to raise our kids to go find their place in the world.  We do try to pour our best into them so they discover their own grace.  We do allow them to spread their wings to see what works best for them.  Would I be content with her still home?  The obvious answer to that is yes.  But it is also true that both of us probably need to continue growing up.  I will even pray she can do a better job of it than me.

Bro. Trey