As most parents are singing the tune "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and the little rippers are headed back to the routine of school, I'm humming "Gone Till November".  This is the first year in 27 years (YES 27 YEARS!!!!!!!)  that I am not getting one or more of my kids ready for school.  It is a very strange feeling to be helping Angela pack for her move to Steamboat instead. Maybe these feelings are the  beginning of what is called "empty nest syndrome".  Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be more excited or prouder of her.  But the youngest of the four is on her way out the door.  She is strong, independent and focused.  I know she will have a blast.

It is just kinda weird on my part because I'm dealing with my own internal demons.  When I was her age, I had already been to Woodstock, burned my bra, rallied chanting the "hell no, we won't go", and became one of the first vote 18'rs. My other kids have left home, traveled abroad and made their own lives.  Why is it so hard for me to do it with her?  Is it because she is my youngest? I just realized that to be letting her go on her own is like letting go of part of me, my past, and the stronghold on my own childhood. It sucks getting older when you don't feel old. I listen to her and watch her and see so much of myself.  The best part of this observation is that she is so much better than I was.  More confident, smarter and mature. 

So what will I do after I get her to Steamboat and settled in?  Fly back home to the better half, maybe take a long weekend with my "snowboard moms", tend to the garden before our colder nights set in, stack wood, and probably take some weekend trips with the hubby.  You can be assured that I will finish organizing my new sewing room and get that little green room looking like a guest room instead of the dumping ground for all things with an undetermined destination. 

I'm sure I'm not the only parent of an athlete that is feeling this way. I wonder what the others are doing to cope with this part of their lives?