964 miles away, Huck texted that he was off to get some dinner last night, and I secretly pulled up the Carnegie Mellon web cam just in case I could get a glimpse of him as a college student walking across campus. And I am happy to report that Stalker Mom (as Troy just named me) succeeded! I would recognize that joyful gait (and super long hair) anywhere.

A week ago Huck began his new life in Pittsburgh, and Troy and I began to slowly fade into the background. A wise speaker congratulated us parents for no longer being our children’s problem solvers; now we were their advisors. “This is your life!” one of the slideshows exclaimed to the students. I could feel Huck’s heart pounding with excitement.

Two doors down from Huck’s very nice apartment-dorm is the TV studio where Mr. Rogers was filmed. Troy finds great comfort in this.

While away for five days, Fayetteville had quite the heat wave and we were worried about our flowers. Upon arrival home, we went to the back yard to assess the damage and were pleasantly surprised; the flowers needed water, but they weren’t as dead-looking as we feared. Most delightful of all was our hanging pot of million bells (calibrachoa), which were struggling even when watered daily. Before we left town Troy moved the pretty flowers to the shade, and five days later they looked better than ever with seemingly a million more yellow blooms. Left on their own, they thrived.

Hoping Huck is like the million bells.

Huck’s dorm – Residence on Fifth

The Last Supper

The Last Family Selfie

The Goodbye

The Web Cam