A week is a long time

Last week was a pretty emotional one for me. My middle child, Miss 21, embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. She's currently on a 24 day Contiki tour of Europe and will stay on in the UK to find work for the possibly the next 2 years.

Most of this trip has been encouraged by me, she contemplated going to uni instead and my words were "Uni, shmuni, it'll be there when you get back, you're only young once, travel" So I helped her plot and plan the trip, see here, and counted down the days.

I was so unprepared for how it would feel. The tears started as she said goodbye to her boyfriend of 3 years, she with steely determination, he and I with tears. At the airport as I hugged her, trying not to cry she told me off for hugging for too long. She'd already warned me she wanted no long teary goodbyes, short hugs with "see you later" were the order of the day. I was very good until she walked away and I just lost it. I cried the whole way up the freeway back to Newcastle.

The next day being Sunday, my poor husband didn't know what to do with me. He mentioned he was going to mow the lawn, I burst into tears, his response was "Seriously, I'm only mowing the lawn, it's not worth that is it" He just didn't get it. I ended up spending most of Sunday in my room so I didn't overreact to every little thing he did. Sunday evening I was feeling better, though when I went to bed and turned the front light out, a cloak of sadness wrapped around me, there's no-one coming home at night (Miss 21 worked nights).

Monday I cleaned her room out and also the bits and pieces she'd left behind in the bathroom. I felt as though I was wiping her from the house, silly I know, but that's how it felt.

A week is a long time, I'm no longer in tears when I think of her, I'm excited and proud. She's been wonderful, texting me every other day and she's having a ball. She's eaten snails in Paris, veal and cheese fondue in Switzerland and partied hard most nights.

As a mother I feel so proud of my 3 children who are all wonderful young adults. It's hard to let them go but it's a given, they don't stay with you forever.