Another bird flies away - Roll Kerns!!!

There's something joyful about having your children close together in age.  For us, it was two year age gaps.  What you tend to forget though is that they all leave the house in the order as well.  Karson left us for Louisville, and Isaac has left us for Richmond.

Isaac has (and always will be) our FULL OF LIFE child.  He was a happy baby from day one!  Toddler Karson would speed around his bouncy seat putting toys in his lap, singing and talking to him.  She would push him in his baby swing and bring him toys and snacks.  We'd prop him up in her bed for nighttime stories.  He'd watch movies with her absorbing it all.  You could tell his mind was active, and he was processing everything start to finish.  It's no wonder that when he could draw and learned to write - books, pictures and songs poured out of him.  He started making Youtube videos and had his own channel by age 7.  Writing scripts, detailed stories, wearing costumes, playing games....these were all part of his BIG imagination and excitement for life. He reminded me so much of ME at that age.  Fast-forward 18 years later, and I come home from work to giggles upstairs as he, Karson, Elizabeth, and Evan are working on filming a Goosebumps sequence.  Some things never change, and I like that. 

Doing a little jam session with his Uncle Ben at 231 Bar & Grill a few nights before he left for EKU.

I left my son, the child most like me, in Richmond Kentucky last Thursday.  Classes began today at Eastern Kentucky University where he plans on working towards a degree in Business.  My heart hurts.  Our house is quieter than usual.  He breathes so much life into our home.  I went to collect his last Waterworks paycheck the other day, and the young man who gave it to me said we really miss him.  When I texted him about it, he said "I'm a likeable guy."  What a character!!!

 

  

Earlier in the summer, we were able to get away and go to his student orientation at EKU.  It was my first time in Richmond, and I could see why he loved the campus almost immediately.  It felt like home in a lot of ways.  He'd already been to the campus two other times visiting a friend from South who started there a semester early in the Aviation program.  It got Isaac thinking/considering EKU as an option for him.

 

The day of orientation was full for both students and their parents.  There were breakout sessions, dorm tours, and tours of the students actual college division.  At this time, they also met with their assigned advisors to work on their schedules and answer any questions.  

I've barely heard from him until just now as I am typing this sentence when he Facetime calls me.  He tells me how he washed his bath and hand towels and they got fuzz all over everything.  Oh new towels and their dander!!!!  I also got a little tour of his dorm setup.  We could tell he was over the move-in and ready for us to leave.  We've tried to not to bug him, but he's reached out to Matt a few times and me a handful as well.  It really is good to leave them alone and let them figure things out (as hard as it is).  He did tell me he plans to come home for Labor Day.  I'm excited to see his sweet face!