I talked to your Mom earlier. She reminded me that you are more or less the same age she was when she moved to CT and more or less the same age I was when I headed to the West Coast.
We are both so grateful that you are not so far away.
My “mom” and “sister” took me to college much like Mimi and your Mom did you today. I somewhat vividly remember, almost thirty years later, saying goodbye to my people in the parking lot outside my dorm in Southern CA.
Later that evening, I found a card my “mom” had tucked in the top drawer of my standard issue built in dresser. I don’t have the time or energy to recount here what she wrote to me, but her words certainly weren’t the ones I could have used in that moment.
In the spirit of being and doing better than those who have come before me, I’m tucking a virtual card in the top drawer of your dresser with these words tonight.
JAF, I love you. Not one day passes that I don’t think of you. You are the only person with whom I have ever skated at Rockefeller Center. You are the voice on the other end of my Wii Speak. You are the child who made me Auntie Jen. I couldn’t love you more, nor could I be more proud of you.
As you kick off your on campus college adventure, I have a few pieces of advice:
- LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. Always.
- Establish a healthy relationship with money. NOW! Learn how to get it, save it and give it away. (See: Law of Attraction)
- Bois…ugh…I’m useless here. Seriously tho…you are so much better off on your own.
I will never be anything more than a text or phone call away my sweet girl.