One Step Further

This is a big week for daughter. She's spending the week at art college (yep, genuine college) studying still life drawing and graphic design, and taking one step further out of the "family nest" and into her own adulthood. She's living in the dorms, has to get up on time to get ready, have breakfast in the cafeteria, and make it to the bus stop to catch the two buses that will eventually land her in her first class. The kids attending are all high schoolers (rising Sophomores and up) with more supervision than a regular college student would have, but they are still very much on their own. It's a good experience, I think, for them and for us parents at home.

Daughter is so excited about being away from home at COLLEGE and about the classes she's taking. She texted me this morning that she's learning a lot but having so much fun at the same time. Shouldn't learning be fun? I think so. I'm very hopeful that this experience will play a part in helping her decide whether she wants to attend a strictly art college or if she wants to go the liberal arts route with a major in the artistic field of her choice. She's made several changes over the past 3 years about what artistic field she wants to study--first fashion design, then interior design, and now graphic design. I imagine there will be more changes to come over the next three years before she actually steps foot into her first true college class. At least she's moving towards majors that will not only allow her to have a good time with her work but that will also help pay the bills!

This morning, I took one step further away from my fat behind, I hope. I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical with a goal of doing at least 15-30 minutes a day going forward. I'd done so well with Weight Watchers but had gotten slack in May and June due to insanely busy schedules in our family. It's time to get back on the wagon, and the wakeup call for me was my day-long boredom grazing yesterday. It was so quiet and lonely in the house without daughter around, and I could not focus on any one task (except for the hour I spent playing Rock Band on Wii). Instead, I ate, and ate, and ate. If it wasn't nailed down or healthy, I ate it. UGH! Wish me luck. This morning I've been better behaved, having a bowl of whole grain cereal and coffee for breakfast. There are boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawing for dinner, and lunch will most likely be a turkey breast sandwich on whole wheat with a cup of yogurt on the side and some fresh fruit.

Daughter's boyfriend spent the evening here last night. Poor kid. I don't know what he's going to do in August when he goes off to college and daughter is here. At least he'll be only a couple of hours away and can come home to visit regularly. Having found my true love at 18 years of age, I will not discount the depth of feeling between daughter and her boyfriend. Since my crystal ball has been in the shop recently, I can't predict what their future holds. All I know is that right now they love each other very much. If they've been fortunate enough to have found their one true love so early in life, they have my blessing.