Wow. Eighteen years went fast! Now our eldest son is riding shotgun on our way (er, his way) to college. I’ve got a list of things to tell him on our journey south—things he just has to do to be successful in college and beyond. It wasn’t THAT long ago that I was in his shoes (34 years is a blink-of-an-eye) and how much has really changed? Really.
When I went to college in Vermont I had a huge stereo system with huge speakers, crates of albums, clunky typewriter, piles of clothes, guitars and amps—and all of that barely fit. We literally needed a U-Haul trailer.
Now, we’ve packed our car with fewer clothes (he’s going south where you don’t need all the layers!), his iPod and ear buds for music, and a magazine-thin laptop (oh, if only I had had a word-processor with spelling and grammar check! I guess I was lucky my typewriter was electric, though “White-Out” was after my time!).
Even his guitars and amps easily fit in the back seat.
As we drive I want to tell him to hit the ground running on his first day of class, get to the library, don’t be a dorm rat, avoid the alcohol and drugs……
Don Hopey wrote this for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last Saturday:
The other day I told a friend about my daughter’s imminent departure and my trepidations. The friend responded matter-of-factly, “It’s what they’re supposed to do with the wings we give them.”
He’s really leaving home. I’m not sure my wife and I are ready for this. But we are sure our son is ready.