Terrifying

 When your babies are babies, you worry a lot. It starts with "Are they eating enough?" Then it's SIDS and "Are they still breathing?" As they get older, there are new concerns to worry about. "Are they going to choke on that grape?" "Are they going to stick that metal object into the outlet?" "Are they going to run into the street?"

I naively thought the worrying would start to subside as they got older, and life would be easier for all of us. But the worrying does not subside. It never subsides. It's a different type of worry as they grow older, but it's just as real.

My biggest worry now is this:

Daisy got her license and is legal to drive without an adult in the car with her.

It. Is. Terrifying.

She is actually a pretty good driver. But the road is dangerous and accidents happen. 

There goes my little girl.

[August 30]

And Then There Were Two

First day pics hit differently this year with only two.😪

Of course we got our annual first day of school ice cream with Grannie.

First day of freshman year a week later.

Even though we weren't with him, Zekers continued the traditional first day of school ice cream, college version.

8th day of 8th grade

11th day of 11th grade

[August 13]

Take Flight, My Little Eagle

The weekend prior to move in, The Richmonds had a going away party for Xavier and Zeke.

 

The daddies and the boys...

and the mommas and the boys.

The night before move in day my heart was full as I listened to all three kids playing games together and just laughing and laughing.

Taking family pics before we left is where I got emotional.

It was this last picture of DanFam5.1 that really got me. I may have went in the bathroom and cried after taking this. I rallied quickly though.

This is all the stuff Zeke brought to college.

Here he is, walking into his new habitation.

Greg and Nicole were moving in Xavier at the same time. The room is pretty small, but neither of the boys brought much, so we weren't really on top of each other.

The goodbyes were hard.

It made me feel better that Zeke was rooming with a good friend. The thought of endless sleepovers reassured me that he is getting ready to embark on the time of his life.

[August 8]

Update: The boys moved in a week before school started to attend First Flight, which is like freshman camp. Zeke was in the top left part of the N with lots of other freshmen.

21

 Our marriage is officially old enough to legally drink!

My thoughtful husband of 21 years bought me flowers for our anniversary.

Best decision I ever made.

[July 28]

Spreading His Wings

 Zeke and I attended Take Flight, the new student orientation at UNT. 

When we very first arrived he let me sneak a picture in because there were not very many people around to see.

Kids and parents sat together for about ten minutes at the very first meeting, then we did our own thing for the next two days. 

"Scrappy"

The first evening I asked if he wanted to meet for dinner because we had the same schedule. I was happy to hear that he was sitting with his new friends. I caught him walking away with them afterwards.

Post edit: Zeke and Xavier are good friends with one of the kids he met this day.

Zeke stayed the night in the dorms, but I went home and back again the next day. He was in his actual dorm for next year, which is this one.

I had some extra time, so I wandered around campus.

After spending time on campus, I was not an apprehensive about sending him away. I think he felt better about it, too.

Get ready to take flight, my Zekers.

[July 25-26]