I began this post over a year ago in the days before my son left for college. I just found it in my draft posts.

It’s happening.. the countdown to our middle child’s departure to a college campus hundreds of miles away. I guess he is more of a young adult than a child. He is ready. We know he is ready.

Mother-Son Trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond

We spent an afternoon at Bed, Bath & Beyond doing the click and pick up in his new city that will be his home away from home. The ninety minutes with my son was what I needed. Time. With just him. No phones, no Snapchats.

Just me and my #lefty walking up and down aisles and back again at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  My son had his dorm essentials list. Navy comforter: check. X-long sheets in navy and gray: check.

He didn’t want to commit to a rug until he saw his room. When the store employee at Bed, Bath & Beyond totaled our order my #middle asked to see the receipt. I was relieved it was $200 less than my guestimate. But, my son asked for a different reason. When he heard the total he knew one of the items we scanned did not scan based on the total?

Seriously? Who knows this off the top of their head? My middle child.

We wrapped up our dorm shopping field trip with a trip to Qdoba and a request to order it to go. He wanted to go for a run before the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in over from the mountains. My heart smiled because one of my many mom life lessons was to show my kids the benefits of fresh air and exercise. He shared more with me in that to-go request than his steak burrito order.

My middle learned how to manage his own nerves about his transition to college.

He listened to one of the hundreds of eye-roll worthy life lessons.

My heart swelled and my eyes turned teary-eyed.

How do I wrap my head around eighteen years of parenting?  I can’t say my son was the cuddly toddler. In fact, he was my most difficult child. Stubborn and strong-willed. And, although he drove me crazy for the first three years of his life. I loved that his determination was bigger than the two of us. And, I never wanted to crush his drive.

I used to tell friends that God gave me my #middle because someone else would have lost their shi& with him.

It was around the age of three, with a move to Colorado, we noticed he was happiest when he hit, tossed, putt or threw a ball.

Sports changed him. It changed us.

He was happiest outside and thrived in Colorado with more sun than clouds and mountains to climb and ski.

I blinked and he was a young man.

Sports channeled his competitive side outside the classroom. Sports taught him discipline and respect. One of his coaches told him to always respect his coach, opponent, his racquet and himself. He shows that respect in and outside the classroom and on and off the court.

He learned more about himself when he lost.

When he was angry about bedtime which segued to curfews he would often last out with his words. Like the time he didn’t want to go to bed and he decided that best way to draw that out the bedtime routine was to tell his younger brother, in one sentence, there was no Easter Bunny, Leprechaun or Santa. Yep. That’s my middle.

Thank you Bed, Bath & Beyond for the mother-son moment.

This is where the draft ends.

Stay tuned for the sophomore year kickoff.