What to Expect When Your Baby Moves Out…

Remember the “What to Expect” books? I loved them! I received the “What to Expect when you’re Expecting” book as a gift when I was pregnant with Jake. I sent Mike to the store in the middle of the night to buy the “What to Expect the First Year” book when Mackenzie came home from the hospital and would not stop crying (damn colic!). I even bought the “What to Expect during the Toddler Years“ book. I read all three of these books cover to cover. What I would give for a new book called “What to Expect When your Baby Grows Up and Moves Out”! Our son, Jake decided to move in with his best friend and a house full of roommates in Dubuque, Iowa after visiting them in August. There were currently four guys living in the four bedroom house. But the house has a basement so they decided Jake should just move in there. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind getting things ready and finally traveling across the country, getting him moved in and settled and getting back home in a single weekend! The drive to Iowa was very long but so much fun! It is definitely a trip I will never forget. I slept just a few hours each night so we could get as much done as possible. Plus, I wanted to soak in every second I could with Jake! We didn’t stop too often, but when we did we made it count. Jake talked me into trying a VR Arcade in Omaha, Nebraska. I can only imagine how entertaining that was for others to watch! We also found the Oscar Meyer wiener van and took many pictures along the way. When we finally arrived in Dubuque, we hit the ground running and went straight to Target to get under the bed storage containers, a hamper and a few other things. We had previously ordered a few things beforehand and had them shipped to the house. As we were setting up the room, we decided to order this rail system and these curtains from Amazon to make it feel more like a room and give him some privacy. It was scheduled to arrive the following weekend so it will be up to Jake and whatever roommates will help him to install it. We were so busy and crunched for time, there wasn’t any time to really think about what was happening…until Jake dropped me off at the airport. And drove away crying. I have never cried harder and felt less prepared! The airport was absolute torture. I tried my best to keep it together, but everything looked blurry because my eyes would not stop crying. TSA threw away my toothpaste and I cried all over again because I realized I forgot to leave it with Jake. There was a point where I was honestly worried they were not going to let me fly. I was a friggin hot mess! Oh, and I started my period the day before, so that didn’t help anything. Coming home, walking in the house and down the hall past his room, don’t even get me started! Where in the hell is the book that is supposed to tell me how to do this? How to let go and know without a doubt that he will be okay? My head knows it will get easier but my heart is broken. I am happy for him but sad for me. I am so proud that he actually did it. He moved away to a place he was curious about living in. I wish I did the same thing when I was his age. There are so many places I was (and still am) curious about living in. I am obviously feeling better about everything now. It’s funny how time is the only thing that has helped. I’m trying to focus on other things that help like the countdown to when he comes home in December and knowing how much fun he’s having and how many new friends he’s already made. Work keeps me busy and the Etsy store is starting to pick up. We’ve also told Mackenzie that she can never move away, so that helps too!