My daughter asked me for my hairdryer today, and I ended up crying. What the heck??
So the kids are home for Thanksgiving break. One of them is “home” from college. The other is “home” from her new “home.” The second one is the daughter who asked for the hair dryer.
That daughter graduated from college in May and is off to grad school. It’s kind of the same but also really different. While she still has a bed and a dresser in her old bedroom, she has now moved as much of her stuff into her new apartment as she can.
The closet is still full of old Halloween costumes and prom dresses and boxes of knickknacks that don’t have a place in her new teeny tiny apartment. A few things hang on the walls because they don’t fit the “vibe” of the new place but she also isn’t ready to get rid of them.
She came “home” for break just like she has for the last 4 years–suitcase in hand with clothes and various toiletries. But after her shower today, she called down to me asking if she could borrow my hair dryer. Without thinking much, I went into the spare bathroom and pulled out the hair dryer I leave in there for guests.
The hair dryer I keep for guests.
Guests. What the heck. She’s not a guest! She still lives here! She’s just away at school, right?
Nope. I all of a sudden flashed back to all of the dozens of times that I have visited my mom in Florida and asked to “borrow her hair dryer” while I was there and she pointed me to the one in the guest bathroom. Why would I keep a hair dryer of my own at my mom’s house? And why would my daughter keep one anymore at my house?
It was a bittersweet moment when I connected it all. Yes, this was her home for 16 years. But now she really does have her own home where she feels comfortable and happy and can decorate with as much pink and gold as she wants.
I just hope she remembers she will always have a home here, too!
Leave a Reply