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There hasn’t been a whole lot of “mothering” talk on this blog lately — both because I’ve been busy with work and because my kids are in a mostly self-sufficient, and privacy-protecting, stage. Which is just fine.
But this week marks a first in parenting for me: my daughter is home from college, “visiting,” and I am not at home. I’m participating in a week-long workshop on course design—something I signed up for over a month ago, long before Mariah’s plans were firm. And once they became firm, I’d already committed to the workshop.
Besides, I’ve often left home while she stayed. Over the years I’ve been away for conferences, workshops, and even the (very rare) pleasure trip while she has stayed home. The only difference now is that she doesn’t live at home full time — and she’s actually not spending the summer at home, either — so it feels as if I’ll be missing something by being away.
I’m actually only an hour from home, and it’s not out of the question for me to commute, at least part of the time, so I can spend some time with her. But the workshop is pretty jam-packed, and there’s plenty to do right here, so I can’t spend the whole week shuttling back and forth. Instead, we had a long phone conversation this afternoon when I got out of the workshop, and we’ll check in on each other, I’m sure, via Facebook — much as we always do.
So, as I say, a first. It doesn’t feel great, but at least she’s staying through the weekend, so I don’t miss the whole visit. We’ll be fine.
