He came home the summer after his freshman year and again his sophomore summer but maintained an internship in Columbus requiring many hours of commuting.
Within the first week, he needed roadside assistance for a blown tire. Needless to say, I spent a fair amount of time on the Life360 app keeping an eye on his movements. It’s just a mom thing these days.
Fall semester of his junior year, he moved into an off-campus apartment. Apparently that was still too close to home for him because when the opportunity for an out-of-state internship presented itself, he could not sign on the dotted line fast enough.
Just kidding. He did give it about 12 hours of thought before signing, it just felt like a split second to me.
Spring semester classes ended and he packed up his things, leaving his roommate to fend for himself.
The drive was more than his daily commute last summer and I spent a good 10 hours glued to Life360.
His first stop?
Buc-ee’s. Where else?
Next stop? Tornado Alley.
Not really, he went more south than west, but those storms in the south are just another thing that’s going to keep this mom awake at night. And having been the only one at home when an EF-1 tornado passed over our Ohio home, he’s rightfully a bit anxious about them, too.
On Day 4 of his Summer Internship Adventure, the family group chat began dinging, “Confirmed tornado in My New Hometown,” he said. “Sheltering as we speak.”
I immediately went to Ryan Hall Y’all on YouTube. Sure enough, our son was in the path.
Watching Ryan Hall is like watching flight attendants: if they panic, I panic. If Ryan Hall panics, I panic.
While Hall never went into full-blown alert mode when discussing our son’s new location, what he was saying did not offer any comfort either.
And the local news in the south was encouraging residents to go to a safe space with a helmet on.
“Wish me luck, guys!” our son texted.
My mom brain swirled, his new “home” has no basement and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a helmet with him.
Being helpless is an awful feeling. Moms can’t just sit back and watch and wait, but I had no choice.
My dad’s words of wisdom echoed in my mind, “Just when you think you don’t have to worry about your kids anymore, there is something new to worry about.”
No truer words ever spoken.
Praying silently, my heart was relieved when our son’s next message said, “Survived round one!”
He is 21 years old — a bona fide adult doing adult things — but I am still not sure I am going to survive round one of parenting.
The worrying never ends.
Motherhood, Part II, is a recurring column in the News-Sun.
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