Freshman Daze

It's amazing to me just how true the old saying is, "what goes around, comes around." And I hate that saying.  To that you can add, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."   And yet, just as my late mother had predicted, these, and a host of other little truisms, do seem to be coming around to haunt me.  (Seasonal reference not intended.)  As things stand, I'm sure she's smiling down with just a smidgeon of self-satisfaction.

My daughter is a first year student at the University of Michigan.  So far she loves the experience and I am so happy for her.  Unlike my college days she is living in a dorm away from home and surviving the change, getting involved in campus life, and truly living and succeeding as an independent college student.  That is, as independent as one can be who derives her entire income from her father's bank account.  Great!

As did I, she is discovering that the transition from a unchallenging high school to a highly challenging university setting can provide some startling academic surprises at the start.  As did I, she is experiencing the fun to be had in having a close "mate" at this age.  And, much as did I, she has decided to stick with a mate who lives and goes to school some distance from hers.  Not so great.

I've provided the obligatory lectures about the danger of distractions while at school, the extent of her good fortune to have this opportunity to attend such a fine school, the limited life expectancy of long-distance relationships, and the likelihood of having ones feelings trashed by a mate who lives considerably more than an arm's distance away, to say the least for having a serious relationship at her age.  All of that a rehash of lectures I received more than 35 years ago and all with exactly the same effect: none.

I guess I have to take a deep breath, examine the outcome of such behaviors when measured in terms of personal history, try to relax, and hope that history continues to repeat itself.  Then someday it will be my turn to smile down....or up.  Good luck, kiddo. Just remember, I told you so.