First visit, big help!

[David]

My wife and I made a trip to visit our daughter during her first Fall Break and boy has it made all the difference in the world.  She showed us around her campus and we took her and her roommate out to eat and to the movies.  The roommate is an intelligent young woman with the same major as our daughter.  They seem to be fast friends who look out for each other.  Even though we call and text her regularly, it took seeing my kiddo in her new environment to feel like she was truly okay.   Seriously, if you can take a trip to visit your child while they're all settled into their new home, it will go a long way in allaying some of the fear.  At least it did for us.  I know we aren't the only new empty nesters lurking around and thought sharing the experience might help.  We're more at peace with our empty nest after seeing that our daughter found a safe spot to land.

[Jeanine]

Thank you for that update David.    Glad you are feeling better about it all now. As parents I think our natural instinct is to worry and sometimes I think we think up things to worry about! Now you can really start to enjoy your empty nest. (hopefully)  

[Moonlight]

I'm always curious about how the children live and their new environment, especially if they live so far away. I'm glad that your daughter seems to have good support there; imagine how heavy and worried you would feel if you found something completely the opposite. It won't stop us from getting worried and checking them regularly, but it must feel good to be at peace.

Are you planning to visit her often?

[Katy]

That's fantastic, David! I am so glad that you were able to visit with your daughter. It's wonderful that she gets along so well with her roommate. My daughter got lucky in college, too,, and had a great roommate who she's still friends with.

I agree that it's very comforting to see your child doing well in their new environment. After my first visit to my daughter's college campus after she'd settled in, my worry for her decreased, too.

[David]

Jeanine, the worry is intense sometimes and it seems silly and normal all at the same time.  I don't think my parents were this stressed when I left.  I feel so much better since I set my eyes on her in her new natural habitat. 

Moonlight, we're trying not to bug her by visiting too often.  She needs space to grow up and a chance to be on her own.  It's hard to let go though.  She'll be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas, then we'll go from there.  We'd like to see her fairly often though.  Maybe every other month or something.  Of course, she might have a different idea about what is too often.


Katy, glad to hear that your daughter has a great roommate as well!  It makes a big difference I think.