someone once told me the grief of their son leaving for college was worse than the grief of losing his wife to cancer, because he prepared & had more support for the latter. he was shell shocked when his son left. I think of this every time my daughter wants to cuddle or play.

My son is finishing his second year at Michigan State (we did tour W&M!). The drop off is ROUGH. We unpacked his dorm. When I was about to leave, he stood and said "Daddy..." before he broke down in tears. All I could see was my 8-year old boy. It gets better, but in that moment, it's tough.