How to Know if Your Kids Miss You

As I've mentioned on this blog before, my daughter is now a freshman in a university that is a 4 hour drive away. Saying goodbye to my little girl was one of the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Yes, I know, we raise them to leave us and become independent adults. This knowledge doesn't make it any easier, though. I've wondered at times if she misses Mom as much as Mom misses her, especially when she's talking excitedly about her classes, teachers, new friends, and activities. God has given me a couple of little hints that say yes, she does miss Mom and home.

1 - My daughter was never really concerned about neatness. As long as everything was in a place that she could easily find it, that was enough for her. Fixing her bed seemed superfluous; wasn't she going to have to unfix it again that night? Whenever I told her she needed to clean up her room she'd give me The Look, then put it off as much as possible, after mentioning several times that I'm just too OCD about cleaning. Imagine my joy when my daughter texted her frustration about her roommates who keep their rooms a mess and obviously are used to their moms doing everything for them because they don't do anything for themselves. She was just disgusted at their messiness and immaturity. I was thrilled that my daughter finally GETS IT!!! She misses her nice, clean house. Yay!

2 - I got a call today from my little girl. She's coming home Saturday and will be here for a week for spring break. Her call was to ask that, while she's home, will I make her favorite foods? She doesn't get to eat these at college. Meatloaf patties with mashed potatoes and baked chicken & stuffing in the crockpot top the list. The idea of fried chicken and ribs was also very appealing. Mind you, my daughter rarely asked for any particular meal to be prepared. If I cooked something she liked she ate it. If it was something she didn't care for, she made herself some Tyson chicken nuggets. To actually request multiple dishes means only one thing: she misses my home cooking!!

I can't wait till my baby is home and we're a complete family of five under one roof again. It's only a week, but it'll be fun. And I'll make sure my daughter enjoys it so much, she'll miss it all the more when she leaves!