Off to College

The day after is always the hardest.
When you go into their rooms to pick up the clutter they have left behind in a hurry, when you take the battery out of the AC remote because you know it is not going to be used for some time.
Every time you walk past their rooms, you expect them to be inside and for a second, just a brief significant second something grips at your heart to know that they are not. Slowly you acclimatise yourself to the pain and learn to ignore the empty rooms as you walk past them.
The best part is finding their stuff in the clean laundry pile days after they have left. Discovery of each piece of clothing neatly pressed and folded brings a joy of its own and putting it back into its respective closet and cupboard is a sign that they may not be here now but they will be back soon enough.
But the day after is always the hardest.