Back to school

I am absolutely thrilled that my teenage son will be able to start at the University of Iowa this fall after all! Just a few weeks ago we had to tell him that he'd have to sit out a year, but some circumstances changed that were really helpful to h.im. He'll move into his dorm next week and start classes the following week.

I can remember that weekend my dad and I made the three-hour drive to college my freshman year. It's funny how vivid some of it is, the smell of the late summer air, the sunshine-soaked campus, the butterflies in my stomach, and that confusing mixed sense of euphoria and terror when my dad left. I hung out with my roommate Carlene. We went to the movies (at least, I think it was with her) and saw Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield. I wondered about how hard my classes would be and what the boys would be like. I met Julie through her roommate, who went to high school with Carlene. And later that semester Mary, in German class. I'm still in touch with all of them.

Now my son gets to have these new experiences. And, if I may, I get to bust my buttons. My son is going to college. I am a very proud and happy mama. But, he better study hard. And don't forget to go for a run once in a while to clear his head. :-)