Five months and two weeks

Yeah – I’ve started the countdown.

We’re all preparing for Jessie to move out. She’s been accepted at 7 out of the 8 colleges who have announced acceptances so far, and at least two of them are currently contenders. And the financial aid is so much better than we had hoped.

She’s going to college.

Last night, she really wanted vanilla ice cream with peanut butter cups. I drove her to Dairy Queen to get it. Because I thought “five months and two weeks from now, I’m going to be happy that I drove my baby to get a treat when she really wanted it.” And this morning – when I started yelling the countdown (I loudly announce the time at 7:00, 7:10, 7:15 and finally 7:20) until she staggers out of bed to get to online class at 7:22 – instead of being aggravated that she doesn’t wake up on her own, I realized that I’ve got another two months and two weeks until I’m done with that entirely for her.

I’m processing the missing her, the recognizing the gravity of the milestone. Hoping that if I just feel it, if I let it wash over me and don’t fight it, that somehow it’ll be easier when the time comes.