Has anyone here ever sent a kid away to college? I mean far away to college. I feel very nervous. My son is smart and a great kid- but I will miss him. I think we have grown up together, so that is a part of it. But also he has been my biggest helper and a great brother. He's looking forward to this, so I am not letting on how much I will miss him. Any tips for dealing with this mom's separation anxiety?

I haven't been through this yet, but I'm interested to see if anyone else has. My oldest is 16. He's a sophmore this year. He did really well on his psats so we've been getting lots of mail from colleges. I'm not sure how I'll feel if he decides that he wants to go somewhere far away.

I have no clue how to deal with it. I *thought* I was the total easy going mom when it came to the whole idea. I certainly have no lack of ideas for things I could do when the kids are grown and out of the house. lol. But last year I sent my oldest to her first weeklong sleep away camp and I was a wreck! :wah: I was simply astonished how I felt as if a limb was missing the entire week. I have sent her to stay with her grandparents who live further away than the camp was, but it was her first non-family visit separation. It completely threw me. Of course she didn't miss me one iota because she was having such an awesome time. I think that it might be one of those "life contractions" that draws on some of the coping skills we learned giving birth to our babies. It is going to hurt, so we need to learn how to have move through the pain. Not try to escape it. But rather instead of meeting it with fear and resistance, we can approach it with great love and courage.

Whoever it was that said that to have a child is to have a piece of your heart walk outside of your body for eternity was so right. :heart:

I think that part of the problem is the distance, and part is that he is an adult. But mostly I will just miss his presence. Thank God for e-mail!