Hard Things
Summer is officially over this weekend and three weeks ago, we moved Anna Cate in to her dorm room at the University of Tennessee. For many ways, it is the culmination of the entire Senior year and I knew it was coming, but for some reason, the weeks leading up to it gutted me in a way I didn't really expect. I remember driving to school last year and talking about why I wasn't emotional about her "lasts" and I think it was that I was happy that she has her life ahead of her, and I am confident in the foundation she has. As I have not hidden from those who know me, this is not the childhood I would have planned for her. In fact, in many ways, she was having the childhood I wanted for her before our life changed in 2016. That is not to say there is no joy, that there are no gifts in the unexpected journey. Also, this summer prepared us a little bit for her leaving in that she was a counselor at a camp where she spent Sunday-Fridays, with little to no phone service...