Washington is quiet now without Congress in session, absent the workers whose vacation schedules mirror those of lawmakers, and with tourists going home to buy school supplies and prepare for the Fall schedules.
Colleges and University students have begun departing for school; some have started Fall classes. Many upper classmen, like my son, departed early in order to move into apartments, reconnect with friends and get settled and resume their social lives before classes start.
Summers were more complicated when my children were younger. As a single, working mother I started piecing together childcare in January and February in order to ensure that interesting and affordable experiences were there for both boys. By this point in those summers, it was difficult to find childcare and, as a result, we generally took our vacations during the last few weeks of August.
While a lingering sadness about summer ending is in the minds of those parents of young children, their loss is less dramatic. Sure, they have to take on the homework police role and get the children up earlier and there are no more late nights spent catching fireflies. But they don't have to say good-bye.
The parents of college students not only lose the carefree days of summer but they lose their fun and energetic sons and daughters as they begin their departures for schools near and far.
While I haven’t taken a poll, I suspect that the single parents are especially sad to see their students leave. My sons and I have a special bond that in part developed because it has been just the three of us for a very long time. When they leave, I feel disconnected and it becomes more painfully obvious that there is a family link missing. It’s ghostly quiet, save the dog’s occasionally noises, and there is nobody who needs me. It takes several days to get over the sadness...and to pick up the feathers discarded by the ones who left the nest.
Single parents and whole families alike suffer a loss that can be intense. It is hard to fill the void and it can be very sad without the chicks at home. There are no more dirty socks left by the door (or under beds, behind the couch, even on top of furniture). The laptop doesn’t occupy space in the family room and that white-noise hum of its motor is absent. Dirty glasses aren’t scattered throughout the house. For the parents of boys, toilet seats stay down. And for us all, the porch light goes out much earlier. It’s quiet and it’s boring.
Oh it’s nice that the grocery bill goes way down and the water and electricity usages are significantly reduced. But those are small prices to pay for the entertainment they provide, the sense of importance they give us and the pride we have in seeing just how well they have done and what interesting humans they have become. My sons are not only hugely entertaining but extremely loving and helpful. When they aren’t around, I have to find other ways to get projects done. Let’s face it, there is no better comfort food than family. They feed us in a way nothing else can and they make us feel complete.
With college students, I have appreciated summers more than ever because I have had the privilege of having my sons home and all the energy and enthusiasm they bring. With the last one starting his Senior year, this week’s good-bye was bitter sweet with the knowledge that there won’t be another end of August like this again.
Life goes on and Thanksgiving will be here before I know it. I had better start picking up those feathers!
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