August 10, 2007
I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since Arna left for college. We’re getting ready to start year 2 of being empty nesters. This summer I forgot that Arna had been gone to college. Cassie became Arna’s dog once again. Teenagers came and went from midnight until two or three in the morning. Teenagers watched movies all night long. The doorbell rang and delivery guys from Pizza Hut, Subway, Jade Garden, and various places brought huge boxes of food that disappeared within minutes. Life went back to high school for a few months with some significant differences. We came and went on trips. Arna came and went on trips. Sometimes our paths barely crossed. Every time I saw Arna I’d remind him that he needed new sandals: his Birkenstocks had a huge hole in the bottom. Arna would reassure me that “he was on it.”
This year Arna again is leaving his dog Cassie with us. I lobbied for him to find an apartment that took dogs. Just like last year when I tried to get Arna to find a college dorm that took dogs, I failed. Arna couldn’t find an apartment that was close to classes, cheap, and allowed dogs. Besides, he told me that he was probably going to be “too busy” to take care of Cassie.
Last year Arna packed everything he could into our old Ford Explorer and our old CRV. This year we are renting a 16-foot truck to carry household items and the entire contents of Arna’s room. I figure at the end of four years if we keep using bigger and more vehicles we may not have any household goods left. Besides a bed, desk, chest of drawers, couch, kitchen table and chairs, we’ll finally be getting rid of carefully packed and labeled “first apartment” boxes of pots, pans, silverware and dishes left over from other family members.
Last year Arna took an old bicycle of Bob’s that Langston and Zach had both used. Arna is taking the bicycle, but he just purchased a longboard to add to his collection of transportation methods. What is a longboard and why does he need it?
In case you don’t know, a longboard is a long skateboard. Arna claims that it’s too much trouble to find a place to lock his bike when he only has two minutes to get to class, “With a longboard you just pick it up and go inside.”
“Why can’t you just walk to class? Isn’t it only two blocks?”
Arna gave me a long, dull stare, and we moved on.
Bob and I are gearing up for a great weekend. We’ll pack the truck, unpack the truck in Iowa City, and drive the truck back to Lawrence. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but I get excited every time we help our kids move. Sure, we’ll both be stiff and sore when it’s over. Tired, too. But it’s fun to see yet another landmark in Arna’s life: the first apartment. Hopefully, it won’t become a messy pit immediately. He’ll catch on and keep it very neat. Not likely. But there could be a chance he’s learned a lot from his brothers. He always used to complain how gross their apartments were.
Arna is busy preparing the way in Iowa City as I’m writing this. He’s picking up the key, turning on the electricity, and measuring rooms so that he knows exactly how much he can cram into his new apartment. Then he’ll stand in line at the landlord’s office to secure a parking place.
I am remembering all the times we’ve gone through this before. And I remember my old apartments. I had some disasters, but mostly disastrous roommates. I even had to move out when one roommate kept leaving the burners on all day. So I know the hazards — Zach had an apartment where his cell phone would not work and he had to make calls outside all winter; Matthew once had a roommate who would not turn the thermostat above 60 degrees all winter. Then there are the great joys of having your first apartment. For me, I loved having my own bedroom, not sharing with anyone for the first time in my life. Then there’s having a party, cooking dinners, and just being on your own.
Arna will experience the down side of first apartment living — buying supplies that you hate to “waste” money on. This means the necessities that your parents have always supplied like toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products which will get much use. I’ll probably go off to Sam’s and buy these things so that Arna has a “good start” and can focus on fruits and vegetables that he’ll start eating regularly.
I’ll probably be more excited than Arna at the unpredictability of it all. Will his neighbors be horrible or will they have great parties? Will Arna make friends with somebody who just loves to clean up? Will he love being alone without a long hallway of students like himself? Or will Arna miss rules, RAs, and his loving parents? I keep thinking how much fun it all seems, just not to know what will happen. Arna will move into his first apartment. We’ll come home. Arna will discover all the things that he forgot. He’ll discover all of the new responsibilities. And he might change. I figure the next time I see him he’ll be recommending Swiffer products and vacuum cleaners. He may even have a new pair of sandals.
Comments
Anna (anonymous) says...
Leah,
You are TOO Good!
Well, I guess he is on his own--no more move back in! Hooray!
Quick buy a one-bedroom condo!
Anna
August 15, 2007 at 6:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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