Best of Brittany

On May 9th Brittany will graduate from Western Carolina University with a BS in Communications; a concentration in Public Relations and a Minor in Hospitality and Tourism. The next day, Mother’s Day, she will turn 22.

Needless to say, this has made me a little nostalgic. I’ve been sitting here re-reading the 45 articles I’ve written about her since she left for college almost four years ago and I thought it would be fun to share some reflections from her freshman and sophomore years this month, and next month; from her Junior and senior years.

We can see how far she (and her mom) have come!

The first article I wrote featured thoughts about when baby boomer parents become empty nesters. What is so different about it happening to this generation is the Boomers and Millenniums are tight. We doted on our kids, who grew up feeling wanted and valued by us and we were heavily involved in their lives. In fact the boomer parents of college kids have been given a nickname: Helicopter Parents. Because we “hover.”

So naturally, when they went off to college, we would do everything we could to remain a part of their lives. We learned to send text messages; we joined Facebook and maybe even My Space. We chatted on our cell phones multiple times a day. And we were also a competitive bunch: my second article was about Parent’s Weekend at Western and how the parents arrived with armloads of gifts and took their student out for a nice meal and an afternoon of shopping. A pretty expensive visit, but worth it to us to hear our kid say, “Today was great! You guys should come up more often.”

By the end of Freshman year, just when we were getting used to a house that stays clean and a laundry basket that was never really overflowing. They came home for summer. With all of their laundry and all of their new-found independence.

It takes some adjusting, but we begin to realize how fast it all goes and start letting things go a bit.

Some things haven’t changed since I first wrote about them. But, some others maybe have gotten worse. Like the government, Brittany’s debt is border line out of control. But, on the bright side, she still hasn’t gotten that tattoo she threatened me with sophomore year. She still loves her sorority and her many “sisters.” In fact she told me they just had a ceremony where all the graduating sisters became alums. My sorority didn’t do this, so I asked her what that meant to her. She said that now, the rest of the girls have to stand up when she enters a room.

Just like the Queen! She’ll like that!

Her sophomore year also inspired an article I called “Do College Kids Still Need Their Parents?” Well, that’s one of the things that hasn’t changed. I’m happy to report, as we proof read job resumes, discuss graduation plans and look forward to a family trip to Mexico the week after she graduates - they most certainly do!