Leaving the Little One Behind

I helped Kris move back into her dorm room last weekend. The hustle and bustle on a college campus still overwhelms me. But then most things overwhelm me once I cross the county line heading in any direction from Little Town. I followed her to Waco and we stayed in contact with each via walkie-talkies during our trip. Made for some interesting conversation along the way.

Our first priority when we rolled into Waco was to purchase books for the spring semester. It was fairly quiet at the campus book store on Friday afternoon. We were able to purchase all but two books and were advised to return on Saturday or Sunday afternoon to see if the new shipments had arrived. From there we made a trip to Wal-Mart so Kris could buy a small vaccuum cleaner for the scrap of material called carpet in the dorm room. For those of who know Kris, you won't be surprised when I tell you that she bought a PINK vaccuum cleaner. We then relocated to a parking lot across the street from her living quarters and proceeded to make numerous trips from vehicles to dorm room. Ugh. At least the weather was cooperative.

It took us right at three hours to get her stuff organized to her liking. Picked up a pizza on the way to the hotel and called it a night. Started over on Saturday morning with a trip to Target to buy her some groceries to stash in her room. Decided to grab a bite to eat at Cheddar's and caught the matinee of "Marley and Me". We couldn't decide between "Marley and Me" and "Bridal Wars". We discussed "Seven Pounds" as well but went with the movie about a man and his dog. Take kleenex with you if you decide to watch "Marley and Me".

Went back to the campus book store to check for the outstanding books but to no avail. Took advantage of some down time before heading out to Red Lobster for an early dinner. It was 6:15pm when we pulled up in the restaurant parking lot. WOW -- it was crowded and come to find out, there was an HOUR wait!! We decided on IHOP where the atmosphere was much more calm than Red Lobster. Called it an early night even though Kris wanted to go watch "Twilight" for the fourth time. (She has pre-ordered the movie which will be released in March, 2009.) And for the record, it was cloudy and I did not get to see the moon rise.

Sunday found us back at Target for a few items Kris had forgotten on Saturday. Grabbed a bite to eat at Chili's and then it was back to the campus. We made our third trip in as many days to the campus book store. There were kids lined up outside the book store waiting for the door to open at noon. The two books needed were on back order so we punted. Kris started feeling icky so I waited around to ensure she was going to be all right. During the process of driving around campus, I spotted a UBS store that appeared to be selling books. Sure enough, we found the two books she needed and now she knows to go there in the future to avoid the crowd at the campus book store.

The inevitable arrived and I had to drive off without my baby girl....again. This time the lump in my throat didn't burn quite as bad as when I left her in August but it still hurt. The trip back to Little Town was uneventful but I missed having her to talk to along the way. Sam worries about me every time I go to see her or when she comes home because I tend to go through withdrawal pains when we have to say good-bye. I'm getting better and I admit that I eagerly await her phone calls and text messages. Motherhood -- I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China!