 |
| The birds had flown away before we discovered this nest when cutting our hedge a month or so ago. |
It's four weeks now since we took Kate to Sheffield University where she is now studying History and Politics. After a few days feeling a bit anxious, she has settled in well, making friends with the her flatmates and generally having a great time, I'm probably getting an edited version of events too. She was stressing a bit about her first essay and adjusting to studying more independently but coping fairly well overall. She came home last weekend and already she seems more confident and less reliant on us to sort things our for her, though she did bring several loads of washing home.
We, on the other hand, are finding it harder to adjust. I'd didn't cry on the day we drove her to Sheffield with an overflowing car boot of her belongings and uni 'essentials' (she says they have 8 cheese graters). I'd already done that in the car park outside Debenham's a few weeks before when I had a row with Kate and she said that soon she'd be gone so I wouldn't have to take her shopping any more. So I had prepared myself and arranged lots of things that first week to keep me busy. Paul hadn't really thought about it and has really missed her. The house is so quiet without her and her friends around; it's tidier; there's less washing; we don't need to buy so much food and I haven't had any shopping trips to Zara. I don't like this at all. And all the things I enjoyed doing with her aren't so much fun with Paul who isn't terribly keen on watching 'Bake Off' or 'Strictly' though he is trying. The dog isn't happy either, missing his main playmate. We listen out for the phone and put it on speaker so we can both hear her. Now she's has settled in she's not ringing so often though and I try to resist the urge to text her for updates. After nearly nineteen years of watchfulness, not knowing anything about where she is, who she is with and what she is doing is hard. It's not really that I'm worried - just interested really, as my life seems rather dull in comparison to hers now. I'm a bit envious to be honest. I've heard others say that they wouldn't want to go back to being a teenager; I would!
