Navigating the Emotional Journey of Sending Your Child to College

I just spent the last few days in the place my youngest daughter will soon call home for the next 4 years. It was such a unique experience for her as she made new friends, met future classmates, learned more about where she will be living and discovered places she wants to visit after she arrives. During the visit, parents and students were separated for a large part of the day so parents could listen to college presentations and students could walk the campus and learn more about the school. During the parent portion of things, I had the pleasure of meeting other moms who also have daughters attending the school this fall. We sat together at lunch talking about our daughters and all the other things you talk about when you meet someone and suddenly, a deep feeling of MISSING my daughter overcame me. It was literally only 4 hours that we were separated, but gosh I MISSED her. Seriously though, how is that possible? I am always separated from her during normal days at home so why am I missing her now and why so profoundly? When we met back up in the afternoon, it felt like I hadn't seen her in days and I was giddy with excitement to get caught up with her. She excitedly talked on and on about new friends she made, what they did together and how excited she is for everything to come. As she told me more, I got an overwhelming feeling of HAPPINESS which felt so darn good. This is exactly what we all want for our kids... happiness. Let's be honest, a mothers happiness is directly tied to her children and if they are happy, so are we. Anyone ever hear the phrase, "We are only as happy as our least happy child."? So true, right? I digress. I continued to happily listen when I got an overwhelming feeling of SADNESS because gosh darn it, I am going to miss these moments and GEEZ LOUISE, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON HERE?!? The emotional rollercoaster I am on is starting to make me feel off kilter. But I kept on nodding and asking more questions and smiling and trying my best to listen while my brain is trying its best to compartmentalize all these feelings and emotions. Then, the talking ceased and I looked in her happy, excited eyes and felt nothing but PRIDE; Buckets and buckets full of pride because at that moment I knew... she is ready for this. She is excited, she is happy and she is headed in the right direction with so many amazing experiences and opportunities ahead of her. I will most definitely remain on this rollercoaster of emotions for quite some time, but in the end, I know she will be okay and that makes me feel... RELIEVED. During our 13 hour drive home we talked, laughed, sang at the top of our lungs, and believe it or not, argued only once and even though these moments with her are dwindling, I know that I will be okay too.