Well Moms, I did it: I dropped my firstborn little baby off at a college apartment this weekend. Is my firstborn little baby actually 19-years-old? Yes. Is he 100% capable of living on his own and absolutely killing it this year at college? Also yes. But was it still one of those BIG life events that I think we will never forget? YES!
There’s so much pride and uncertainty that comes with fully embracing that your kid has grown up. You get to stand back and watch them make so many decisions, big and small. You feel pride in the great choices they are making, and maybe a little nostalgia in the way they are making the same decisions you did at that age. You also see them making some strange choices and just keep quiet so that they can live and learn.
Just like our kids have to live and learn how to be adults on their own, we have to live and learn how to be the parents of now-adults. We have to learn how not to see the emptiness they have left and instead see the possibilities.
So what should we do with our new found free time? Embrace the new season of your life and get some new hobbies!
I crowdsourced some new things that college-kid parents tried and recommended:
Take a class!
- There are several universities that will let you audit a class for free, or you can even ask a professor to sit in on a lecture. This is not something for college credit, but just to enrich your brain.
- Not much of a dancer? That can change if you learn the steps or even just enjoy time with others in a dance class.
- Whether it’s a “paint and sip” or a full-on painting class, you never know when your inner artist might come out to play!
- Get into gaming. Ask a neighbor kid to teach you how to play a specific online game, or take a class at your local library. Gaming is so vast in its type, there might be one that you will love that you don’t even know exists right now.
- Photography classes are great ways to learn photo techniques. You can even find classes that teach you iPhone tricks.
Get out and get your blood pumping!
- Meandering/easy hikes are still hikes. Get out and enjoy this beautiful state that we get to call home!
- Swimming classes are available at your local YMCA or sometimes gyms/community centers.
- Geocaching was pretty big just a few years ago. It is an easy way to be outside and visit new places, all with a choice of simple apps.
- If you’ve never been a gardener (indoor or outdoor), there’s no better time to learn than now!
- Get in touch with your inner drama kid. You can join clubs that do live action role playing or community theater. Maybe you just want to be in the audience, and that’s great too.
- Maybe you’ve wanted to travel and now you’ll have less responsibility at home and can do that.
- Catch up with friends that might be in the same season of life and who are trying to figure out what to do with their time too.
Is it just rest that you want? Now might be the best option for that instead.
I just want to remind you that you have put so much effort into being a parent for so many years and it’s ok if you’d like to spend some time and energy on yourself now. I’ve read so many books and listened to podcasts on parents and moms specifically “losing their sense of self” during parenting and if we have to give our babies over to adulthood and release them into the world, then we definitely deserve to put care into ourselves and remember who we truly are.
