yesterday was special. guinn and i were up at the crack of dawn, drinking coffee and holding Joy, when trey happened to look out our bedroom window into the courtyard. he says "oh jules, you have to come see this. this is so sad and sweet."
i look outside and find a family of four huddled in a circle, dropping their precious little girl off at college. the dad was wiping his tears as he kissed his little girl goodbye. the mom struggling to show a strong face was fighting back her tears, but it wasn't working.
i couldnt believe we had stumbled across this precious moment, but within seconds i too was crying. we stood there, holding joy, and were so touched by every bit of this family event.
i realized that i was seeing something from both angles. holding my own daughter, i watched these parents say goodbye.... and, as this cute little freshman girl stood there in tears, it reminded me of when i got dropped off at college. i remember my dad and beth driving off, and i went into my dorm room and cried and cried.
The girl hugged her dad and they both sobbed. then she hugged her mom. same story. hugged her little brother. and then we watched them all part and all so emotional. it was heart-wrenching.
it's such a big moment and all i could think that morning was how much of this was going on all over campuses right then.
i was crying behind the glass window and it took everything inside of me not to run up to the family and say "hey, i will love and protect her and make sure she's happy and well taken care of!!"...although, i didnt want them to know that i had been watching their moment!
but, i'm making it my mission this year to take these little fishies under my mother-goose wing and love them as my own.
today, we found out that that very girl lives right next to us in the dorm. so, i went and knocked on their door, introduced myself (and, took piper with me, of course), and let them know - if they need ANYTHING - i am here.
i love living on campus. and i don't want to leave anytime soon.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
hi! we have babies very close in age... and i have loved following your journey through new motherhood ---
ReplyDeletewhat a touching story... made me cry! i too remember saying goodbye to my parents, and remember sobbing in the shower because i didn't want my roommate to see me cry. having babies has changed my perspective on everything...weddings can be especially hard sometimes!
you are so sweet -- thank you for sharing your adventures on your blog.
julee!! I loved this post. I helped freshmen move in at baylor last week with my co-workers and saw a lot of sweet moments between parents and new students... your new neighbor doll is in such good hands!! so excited for a new school year! being on the staff side of things is so much fun, I love it!
ReplyDeletegools, you will make a great mom to all those lucky freshmen on campus. so inspiring to me as i realize we'll have a bunch of this going on here in the next few weeks. encourages me to find some sweet faces and love on them as their families are far away!
ReplyDeleteHey Julee! I really liked this post! I love following your blog and hearing about you, Trey, and Joy. I'm so glad y'all are involved in students' lives. I wish I was still on a college campus to hang out with freshmen! I miss y'all!
ReplyDelete-Griff