How am I doing? Truthfully, great! I really am! Yes I know last weekend was her last prom and she is almost done with her senior year of high school and pretty soon it will be her last soccer game and her last time coming home for lunch, but that’s OK!
Let me explain. When she started high school I knew these next four years were going to fly by and they did, but I vowed to savor every single moment as best that I could. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely ups and downs during these high school years, but isn’t that life?
I mean I am a “glass is half full” kind of gal so I love seeing what is next. In the moment I am enjoying every single minute of it, but then when it is over, I am not sad, I am anticipating with excitement the next adventure. Yes we checked off the last prom, and soon we will check off the last soccer game, but then we will have graduation, and then we will enjoy summer at the lake, and then we will get her dorm supplies, and then we will watch her excitement as she steps onto the college campus, and then we will have a blast coming to visit her and watching her fulfill her passions. I mean doesn’t that sound awesome!
I am so full of joyful anticipation for her that I am finding this to be the best part of parenting. Now, let’s be honest, along with this joyful anticipation comes uncertainties. Is she going to be OK by herself at college? Will she remember to eat? Does she even know how to make her bed? And what about laundry???? When I first went to college I thought the fabric softener was the detergent! What is our family life going to look like with her away? How is Kate and Emily going to handle it? What’s Jason going to do? He cries during commercials people!!!!!
But I have a strong faith and a REALLY BIG GOD that can handle ALL of this. I think this might be why I am not sad about what was or worried about what is yet to come. Instead, I kind of embrace what IS. Because truthfully that is all I can handle. Just the other day I heard this on the radio, “where you are right now is the most important place for you to be and who you are with right now is the most important person you are to be with.” I mean this really breaks it down into something I can handle.
We also got some really good advice from a dad who has been down this road before...he said to tell Elsa everything we want to tell her the week before we drop her off at college. Because the day we drop her off there is so much emotion, so much craziness that we don’t want to forget to tell her how proud we are of her, how happy we are for her, how much we love her, how much we are going to miss her. We can just squeeze her tight and know that it is going to be alright.
Until of course we get in the car and cry uncontrollably LOL :)
~Jen
How am I doing? Well right now I’m: exhausted, sleep-deprived, happy, full of food, annoyed and definitely relaxed, all at the same time!
Basically, I’ve had a really exciting, eventful, joyful, tiring, and loving couple of days! This past weekend was prom, a dream honestly! It was so amazing to have spent another special weekend with the sweetest boyfriend ever and my fun-loving friends! I will have to say, prom last year was more special and I believe it’s because I hyped it up SO much! Do not get me wrong, it lived up to my expectations, but this year, I knew what was coming and the preparation process wasn’t as enjoyable! It didn’t even feel like prom! But I am very grateful to have spent an amazing post prom with my favorite person and take a relaxation day with some friends before heading back to school!
Today was the day of my last anatomy test *Heaven’s angels come down and sing in harmony because that class is finally done with* hence the sleep-deprivation!!! Going through the day today I realized that that anatomy test marked the last major assignment per say I had due before high school is officially over! I did, however, realize that I still had the AP Psychology test next Thursday but am I reeeeallllyyy going to study for that…?
Tonight I am writing this blog post with no stress of tomorrow, no big exams or quizzes (actually I do have a calc Quest but am I worried? I don’t even care at this point (don’t worry dad, I have an A+ in the class)), no essays to write, no projects to work on! It’s finally hitting me that the end is near… too near! I mean cmon, it’s Emily’s birthday today, that means mine is in 20 days, which means we graduate in 17 days, which means next week is my last full week of school, which means senior breakfast is coming up! Like this is crazy! I can’t be graduating now, not yet! I don’t think it’s fully hit me, but the fact that I am graduating has not even closely registered in my brain yet. So I’ll let you know how the next couple of weeks go!!
Tonight was also senior soccer night, hence the annoyed and happy feelings! We just struggle to understand some calls made by certain people but hey, our underclassmen treat us right and darn they outdid themselves today!
This senior night wasn’t sad or anything like that, my team and I still have a long way to go until we’re done, but man tonight has really made me appreciate my teammates more than ever! I absolutely love the underclassmen on this team and this team in general! We’re a HUGE family and I frickin love all of these girls to death! Most of them (mainly the ones closer to Kate) are seriously like younger sisters to me! But darn, they really put in the most effort for our night tonight! I mean goodie bags and brownies and posters and balloons and streamers??!! They shouldn’t have!!! tonight was great, I was very thankful for Bryce and Bay to be able to make it because it sucks only getting to see them on the weekends!! And I was grateful for my amazing underclassmen who made my night super duper special!
So yeah, right now I’m good and I’m happy and I am definitely not thinking about college and I am full of food so honestly I need to go to sleep!
~Elsa
Thank you Amy!!!! xo
I think you will both do wonderfully! Elsa- what an incredibly exciting time in your life- I wish you all the best!