College...aka "The Sweet Life"

Molly drove back to ND last night.
Last summer she didn't enroll in a summer session so she was home for ten weeks. Having a child return home after college life can be stressful challenging.
I've found that my children morphed into alternate personalities after their first year of college life. Just some examples...


Lawyer-Boy...I didn't recognize my boy at all. Formerly sweet, kind, and nonjudgemental...he returned grumpy, lazy, narcoleptic, and addicted to junk food. He slept, he ate, he complained, he slept, he complained, he slept, he slept more...I was a little worried about the excess sleep until I realized he was up all night, entertaining friends...in my pool...with the heater on ninety...and beer cans in the bushes. 
Are you familiar with the Peanuts character Pig Pen?...that was my boy one summer...

Thankfully my sweet, kind boy grew into a sweet, kind man. {Notice I left out the nonjudgemental attribute he once possessed...that's gone forever...I told you he's a lawyer didn't I?} He'll be marrying Carolyn very soon, and I'm sure he'll never return to his slovenly college ways. But I am secure in the fact that if he does...it's no longer my problem....{it's yours now Carolyn...good luck sweetie!!}


Michael...that's Mr. Michael to you. Hmmmm, let's just say he returned thinking he was the king. The king of everything. He knew everything, he was an expert on everything, and he didn't have to do anything. He returned sloppy, crabby, unshaven, and thinking he was the alpha dog. One summer was not enough time for an intervention, so we  tiptoed around him until we sent him back...early...to his frat...where he belonged...

Our Michael grew into a kind, caring, hard-working teacher. He also married Margaret who obviously has a way of taming that alpha personality...we are eternally grateful for her!...very, very grateful...soooo grateful. 

Teacher-Girl...sweet, precious, lovable first daughter...what the hell heck happened? We dropped Maggie off in August and she was hesitant, sweetly excited, and organized...she was ready.
She returned home assured, and in party-mode. Unfortunately she left the exciting city of Chicago and returned to the boring, subdivided suburbs of Chicago. All of a sudden her home was Mayberry, Stars Hollow, and Dillon, Texas all rolled into one...cute towns for a sitcom...not so cute for our college girl. {I began to feel like a country bumpkin...especially when she eyed my clothing and sadly shook her head}. Summer dragged, but eventually she found herself back to the shopping and restaurants she approved of.

   

Teacher-Girl enjoyed college...she met Bryan, found she loved teaching, and eventually realized money had to be earned...{Thank you Bryan}. Teaching the little ones is a noble profession. Of course the pay scale is rather low...I'm guessing she may have changed her dining and shopping choices!

But she does appreciate it when someone else picks up the tab...

So...

I'm guessing that Molly's inability to pick clothes off the floor will pass. I'm sure she'll eventually realize that leaving food-encrusted plates in her room is unsanitary. I'm confident she'll empty wastebaskets, fold her clothes, and even clean out her desk.

It's just a matter of time.

Every time she heads back to school I feel sad. I worry about her safety, her choices, and her work load. 

So for now I won't worry about the clutter and the chaos that her room has become. I'll straighten it just enough to make me feel comfortable.

After all, I should have learned a few lessons after sending my first three off to college...

Children come back...in some way or another.

Children are always your children...even when they're thirty.

Children change, evolve, and then settle down.

Children are terribly messy...until they're paying rent or have a mortgage.

Children do not appreciate it when you call them children...especially when they're married.

And most importantly...Children will not honor your request to drive over and clean up their dorm room...

...I could organize this space in record time.

::SIGH::

...Running out to buy THIS BOOK...right now!