Hello, readers!
I apologize for not posting at the end of last week. My week got slightly more chaotic than I anticipated. Too much work and not enough time to do it!
I had the pleasure of hosting my mom at my apartment, graciously given to me by Gulfstream for the summer. To be honest, I’ve never had a parent come and stay with me before at somewhere other than where we live as a family (so basically our family home). So naturally, I wanted to be able to prove to her that, yes, at 21, I can too live by myself and take good care of myself because I’m an adult. Well, I’m supposed to be an adult, but that’s debatable. I spent 3 days after work cleaning (more like sanitizing), organizing, ironing, folding, rearranging, anything and everything that I saw my mom do when she would prepare the house for guests. Except this is my mom and is just impressed that I’m where I am, regardless of how I live.
While she was visiting, we called our time together her “vacation from her vacation” and my “vacation from my problems”. She wouldn’t let me do the dishes or my laundry or even cook. She just wanted to do “mom-things” as she explained. We traveled to a different beach in a different city each day, which really was like a vacation for me. The beach isn’t as easy to get to in Savannah than it is in Daytona at ERAU. We’re spoiled, but I can’t complain about living near the beach!
We shopped, ate great food, swam, and even just lazed around the apartment. What I often forget about, now that I’m living on my own, is how nice it is to be around my family. Of course I miss them like crazy when we’re apart, but you sometimes forget about how much fun and relaxing being with family is. But living on my own has changed my relationship with my mom, in a good way! We’re less of mother-daughter and more like best friends. Of course, she always has her “mom” moments, but we work things out differently. It’s very hard to explain other than it’s like a best-friendship.
Being away from home for college is always tough on the family at first, but it’s completely worth it. My parents saw me grow as an adult and I saw that their constant watching over me at first was nothing more than them just making sure I was happy. That can often get lost for some people. Just remember that you don’t want to push away your family when you move off to college! They’re your best and greatest assets. Take care of them like they take care of you. You’ll have best friends for life! Plus then you can have family “vacations from your vacation” or a “vacation from your problems”, which are too much fun. Riddle does a great job keeping parents involved with the university at different functions, like Parent & Family Weekend for example. Riddle takes care of everyone, not just the students!
Give your mom a hug and have a fantastic week readers!
Blue skies,
Emmy
