Baby Jay Takes Flight!

We dropped our youngest child (of three) off at Creighton University in Omaha this past weekend. I am a Creighton Alum (BSBA '83) and our two older children hold degrees from Creighton. We are a  Creighton family. We build family gatherings around Creighton events. We spent last New Year's Eve at the CenturyLink Center for Creighton's inaugural Big East Conference basketball game. We all traveled to New York for the Big East tournament and our older daughter, her husband and our son joined me in San Antonio for Creighton NCAA tournament games.

So it was no surprise when Sarah told us she wanted to attend Creighton. But she had no interest in even visiting another school. Her senior year visits to Creighton only solidified her decision.

While taking a child to college is always an emotional event, at Creighton it is a spiritual event as well. The Creighton "Welcome Week" mass, this year on Saturday night, is always moving. One can see parents throughout the church wiping or holding back tears. At the end of mass, when parents are asked to say a blessing over their children, it's hard to hold back. I never can (or do).

Rachel with Grandpa Harry and Grandma Pat

When our oldest, Rachel (BSBA '08), left for Creighton in 2004, it was the whole "first time" sentiment. She was the first to leave, we didn't know what to expect and so there was apprehension as well. Though our daughter was leaving for school, we still had a high school son and an eight year-old at home. We knew that we would be busy parenting.

When our son, Alex (BSBA '11), left for Creighton in 2007, I knew there would be no one with whom to watch college football and basketball games at home any more. My deer hunting partner was leaving. All my regular father/son activities would be drawing down. (We would, however, make it to church each week on time since we didn't have to wait for Alex each Sunday!) But we still had an eleven year-old at home who would soon be getting busy with junior high and high school activities.

Now, seven years later as Sarah leaves for school, I have different feelings. I will miss being a parent on a daily basis. I will miss chasing Sarah from one corner of South Dakota to the other watching her volleyball, gymnastics and fine arts events. I will miss her friends at our home with there youthful energy (and naïveté). I will even miss the perpetually messy bedroom.

I know Sarah will be educated in the Jesuit tradition. She will be challenged academically, socially and emotionally. She will learn how to serve others. She will make wonderful, lifelong friends that will shape her as much as or more than we, as parents, did. These are the reasons we are sending her to Creighton. They are also the factors that makes this process a bit easier. 

Last Friday night, we got her settled in her dorm room (with a ton of help from the "Welcome Week" crew). We made "Target runs" on Friday and Saturday.

We met Sarah's roommate and her family. We met several friends that Sarah knew - either from high school activities or from Creighton's "Admitted Student Day" or "Summer Preview". We attended a luncheon where we learned about the Creighton Students Union Presidential Fellowship in which she will participate (and about which we are very excited!). We partook in all the "Welcome Week" activities to which parents are invited (before they are shown the door and encouraged to use it!).

On Sunday morning, we took Sarah to breakfast at Lisa's Radial Cafe, part family tradition, part Creighton tradition and part great food. Rachel introduced us to Lisa's shortly after she started at Creighton and we have been making Sunday morning treks there ever since.

After breakfast, we took a couple of photographs and then we set off for home knowing Sarah was ready to hit the ground running. It was a long quiet drive - too quiet. But it was even quieter at home. My first stop when I got home was Sarah's bedroom.

The hard wood floor, normally carpeted with clothing, was visible. There were some empty nails on the walls from which she had taken favorite photos of family and friends. There were no half bottles of water on the dresser or breakfast bar wrappers on the floor. Those irritations seem so insignificant now.

It was quiet. Even her dog, Snickers, was not there, having been checked in to the "Marriott for Mutts" for the weekend. It was just quiet. We had silence before, but we always knew it would not be long lasting. I'm sure I'll get used to the quiet (might have to turn on all the TVs in the house for awhile!).

Judy and I look forward to trips to Omaha to visit our "Baby Jay", to see the Creighton family or to watch Bluejays basketball. We will enjoy a dinner at one of Omaha's many outstanding steakhouses or catch a musical at the Orpheum.

We are now looking forward to the next family gathering - which, ironically enough, will be the marriage of two great Creighton friends at St. John's church on the Creighton campus. The we'll look forward to Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

I always find it to be a challenge to come up with a topic and start a new blog entry. But I think starting that this starting a new chapter will be an even greater challenge.