Goodbyes.

Pardon me here, but I suck at goodbyes. No, really. I avoid them whenever possible. Ask my bff from high school who lives in Houston. Whenever we meet up, we intentionally squeeze in another meeting before she leaves and then cancel, just so neither one of us really has to get into that ugly cry in front of the other. We've been doing this "dance" for 20 years or so, and it works for us.
This is a photo of my niece Cassidy. It was taken yesterday, in front of her new residence at her dream collage. She's a Corker, this one. At age 18, it is safe to say that she's seen a lot for a girl her age. I simply cannot express the pride I have for her.

This would be my family, showing up to surprise her on moving day yesterday...

Sometimes you just gotta follow your heart and show up. Completely unexpected, and perfect just the same...

Our oldest child isn't anywhere near moving out yet, but I spent the whole ride home thinking about it and savoring today even more. Lots of "Cassidy looked just like her a minute ago, and now she's GONE" moments. Tears. Inside jokes. Singing songs the whole ride home. Recalling our own college years and cleaning some of it up for the kids. :) Reflecting on how quickly time flies.

I also had visions of me handcuffing my children to our front door for the rest of their lives at the thought of the leaving home. My hats off to you moms who have done escorted thier kids off to college and left them there. How do you do it? I'll need medication, I have no doubt.

Feeling pretty grateful right now. I'm so glad I scrapbook. So grateful she's a day drive away, and we know where to visit. Grateful for my sister, who cried way more than me (ha). Grateful for social media and technology (especially the GPS that got us there, and facebook, for keeping us all connected.) Especially grateful for the phone call when we got home, just to make sure we got back safely.

And really grateful to you for reading this sappy blog post.