It’s that time of year again … College kids all around the country are moving back home for the summer.
I am not new to this season. In fact, yesterday’s move-out was my eighth in seven years, so this isn’t my first rodeo. I knew what I was walking into …
A literal sty.
My oldest was the worst. I love him, but, truly, he was horrible during move-out. Nothing was ever packed. The room smelled. Garbage and clothes were all mixed together. And half the time, I had to wake him up because he and his buddies went out drinking the night before.
Needless to say, anything is an improvement over H. O may not be well prepared or overly organized, but he is miles ahead of his older brother on the college move-out front.
Case in point … When I got to O’s apartment, I found him folding laundry. He had spent the entire morning washing all this towels and clothes so I wouldn’t have to look at mounds of dirty laundry for days on end once we got home. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is!
[SIDE NOTE: Every year, H virtually stopped doing laundry a month before classes ended. That meant we brought home no less than 8-12 large Ikea bags stuffed with dirty towels, linens, and clothes. And remember, he was a lacrosse player, so his stuff wreaked!]
Another improvement over his older brother’s “process” … O had started to make a pile of what needed to go to the storage unit rather than home. It wasn’t complete, but at least he made an attempt.
My biggest complaint from yesterday’s move-out is that it took much longer than I had hoped. Last year, I was able to move O out of his freshman dorm in just over an hour. That was a new record for me!
This year, because we first had to load the car up for a storage unit run, then pack up again with what was coming home, then clean the apartment (since real landlords are way more particular that dorm TAs), then drive into town to return the apartment keys, it took us nearly four hours. FOUR!
At least the weather was a beautiful 70° and sunny, so that’s something.
Now that O is home, I’ll remind him of the usual “summer house rules” that will help us cohabitate peacefully for the next three months.
For those of you who are new to this college-kid-home-for-the-summer season, take it from me, you need to set ground rules to survive this time period. Trust me! If you don’t know where to start, read my tried-and-true strategies for surviving the summer with college kids at https://midlifemoxieandmuscle.com/summer-break-college-edition/. You’ll thank me later, I promise.
God speed, everyone!
—LJDT
