Missing my boy

Dropped Number One Son off at the airport last night, to take the long flight back to Our Nation's Capitol to begin his third year of college. Well, two flights, actually. He expressed some reluctance to go (I sure know that feeling), but he's awfully resilient and will be right back in the swing of things in no time, I'm sure.

(Just tried to check in with him on AIM; the away message says: "The party begins!" Sheesh. Even more "resilient" than I suspected.)

Plus I think his reluctance had a lot to do with what a good summer he had. I mean, a trip to Fiji, one to Maui, surfing nearly every day -- who can argue with that? He gets credit for working two jobs -- even though there wasn't a whole lot of $$ earned -- and the key thing as far as The Coach and I are concerned is it was emotionally smooth sailing. Which is something we haven't been able to say for every time he's been home in the past two years. Our M.O. is usually to butt heads over ... well, anything, you name it, whenever he's back occupying the room he grew up in, but this time: nothing. TC is particularly impressed with that stat, and it's making NOS's leaving that much more bittersweet, I think.

The thing is, we know NOS does have a tendency to be a bit of a drama queen (king, I guess), and sometimes we just have to take a certain amount of care, shall we say, around him in the interest of maintaining family harmony (and please leave off with your two-cents' worth about how the parents call the tune and the children should dance to it, etc.). TC said to me earlier today, "It was a such good summer; no major blowups this time," with such a tone of poignancy that I got a little choked up. It was a big step, a breakthrough for us, because as TC then added: our boy is growing up.

He's a good boy (I use the term loosely, as he will reach the Magic Number five months from now and is less boy-like by the day), we couldn't be prouder of him, and we miss him already. I'm praying for a good semester for him -- socially, academically, personal growth-wise -- and can't wait to see him again in December.