Wreck 'em Bailey!

Bittersweet is the word people keep using with me right now. "This must be bittersweet."

Sending your first born child off to college, is for sure bittersweet...something that brings both joy and pain. It's our goal as parents to send our children off into the world as responsible, intelligent, young adults. I just think most of us don't expect it to happen as quickly as it does. How can 18 years fly by that fast? How can this young man be the sweet baby boy, that was just playing with matchbox cars and Thomas the Tank engine trains? Regardless of times fairness to us, it's happened. Yesterday was a long day, ironically enough. We packed up the car and headed to Lubbock at 9:30 a.m.

Dorm gear is ready to go.

We had a family dinner for him Friday night. One of his favorite meals, chicken parmesan and spaghetti.

As we drove into Lubbock, around 3:45, it was raining and the temperature was only 70! The rain began to clear, just as we pulled into the dorms to unload. It was perfect timing.

The dorm was covered in spirit posters!

First thing to do was check the room over, before unpacking.

Bailey and I did most the work. The room was a bit to small for the whole Boyen Bunch. The extra hands were great for unloading two cars. They did it in just two trips!

We went to the lobby for a dinner break.  His first college meal...a pizza of course!

After dinner, we headed to a very crowded Walmart, for a few forgotten items. Overall, we did great on getting the necessary things for a dorm room.  After, we drove through campus, and stopped to see his Petroleum Engineering building. Lots of hours will be spent here over the next three to four years.

We headed back to the dorm for a few last touches. His room isn't 100% complete, but for the most part, we got it feeling cozy. I had Pinterest visions for his room, but he had other ideas. He wanted a zen/earthy, calm feeling to the room. He picked things that remind him of home too, like his Himalayan salt lamp (we have one in the family room) and his wax warmer with a zen scent (also all over the house). That top shelf is all his Harry Potter DVDS! I love that he thought to bring those! That desktop computer is his new "Baby". He spent the summer and his graduation money on building it himself. He joked that if he can't make it in petroleum engineering, maybe he'll do computer engineering! The bulletin board next to the shelf, will fill up as soon as he can find some push pins. That was an item we forgot, and the Walmart was completely sold out. Probably because almost every dorm room on the Tech campus, has a bulletin board wall!

The wall is a work in progress...he's got a vintage Tech rug from his Uncle Jeff, that he's going to hang, and some cool IKEA torch lights.

He was happier than I have seen him ever. He is totally ready for this!!

This sweet sister of his, probably cried harder than I did, when we left him. In fact, she had already been crying right before I took this picture. They have really enjoyed these past two years in high school together.

One last photo of the Boyen Bunch altogether.

For once, I made sure to capture a photo of me too...Bailey was happy to oblige. 

John was with us too, of course, but somehow missed getting in the picture. Right after this last photo, he walked us to the parking lot. There were so many hugs. Each kid kept going back for one more. Bailey must have dished out 20 hugs in that parking lot! We drove away, waving goodbye and crying our eyes out. There were actually sobs coming from the kids. Talk about bittersweet...to realize that although your kids fight and fuss, they care so much about each other.

He's called twice already today and texted more times than I can remember! He went to the grocery store and worked on organizing his food in his tiny small. Right now, he's out to dinner with a friend.
He got this whole week to get settles, get his books and explore campus and Lubbock. We will miss him so much, but are excited for him on his new journey.

Wreck 'Em Bailey!