College Move In Day...

Photo-A-Day #02783

Today was a day we have been excited for/dreading ever since High School graduation. The start of college for Eva. Move in day. Excited because Eva will do great things. They have been preparing for this forever and will meet every challenge. Dreading it because our kiddo is not going to be home with us each night for dinner. The sewing machine will be silent and we will not have 9pm shower time serenades. James will be depressed all the time and will come sleep in our bed. James takes up a lot of bed space. Andy did not come with us today, they would have been incredibly bored with all the things we had to do. So Andy hung out with friends for the day. They did get up and give Eva a massive hug.

But overall we are so thrilled for Eva to start their journey. We (Allison, Eva and myself) got to MassArt about a half hour before our move in time so we parked in the parking lot and waited. When it was time to go we pulled up to the front of Eva's dorm and they had so many student volunteers there to haul in everything. We pulled up at 9:15am and had everything in the room by 9:22am. We helped Eva unpack making sure that we did not overstep any moments and let them decide on everything. We met one of Eva's roommate, Tess. Tess had been in the room for a few days because they moved in early. Tess brought the microwave and fridge so that was key.

We stayed in the room until 11am getting Eva situated. When 11:oo am came around I took the empty bags to the car and came back to get lunch from the food trucks that the school provided. 

Eva did not bring a ton of things to college besides clothes, linens, cleaning supplies and toiletries. A few of the more personal things that Eva brought included one of their I Am Elemental toys. This is a special edition Honesty figure that has been part of Eva's life for at least 10+ years. I had to get a photo and send to the creator of the toy. She'd love to see this.

After we had everything unpacked Tess took a family photo for us.

Eva has two roommates and two suitemates making it a 5 person suite. The theme of the floor was frogs and wizards. I think Eva is gonna love that. 

We spent the afternoon at the school attending some information sessions that were all done very well. The entire staff seemed genuinely excited for their new students. The final session was with one of the professors who chatted with us about student success but mostly he helped all the parents take a few moments to breathe and feel relaxed. We walked Eva back to their dorm but said our goodbyes outside. 

We are beyond excited for and proud of Eva. We can't wait to see what they create during the next four years and beyond. Mom and dad got pretty choked up at various times throughout the day. I have the Bennett male thing where when I try to speak at an emotional moment I choke out the words through tears. Great big hugs all around. Tears on the ride home but also a happy contentment that this is the place Eva should be.