August 14, 2008 2:24 PM
Taking Sophia to college
Tuesday I drove Jonny to Fairfax for a checkup on his foot - he's still on one foot and crutches - then drove home to drop him off and pick up Maddy and Sophia and all Sophia's stuff to drive down to Liberty. The night before we'd had a little send-off with friends and family. Sophia and her two best friends - one of whom is going to UVA and one to JMU - traded stuffed animals to remember each other by.
Here is Sophia riding down with Samson - a little lamb from her friend Morgan, named for the Regina Spektor song - wtih Samson lip-synching to the music we were playing.
Three and half hours of lip-synching later, we knew we were just minutes away from Liberty University:
We checked into Sophia's dorm, helped her unpack a little, then went to dinner. Sophia had originally planned to stay in the dorm while Maddy and I went to the hotel, but at the last minute she changed her mind - I guess because her roommate wasn't there yet.
We stayed at this AMAZING hotel on the riverfront (not as romantic as it sounds, but abandoned industrial) in Lynchburg. The Craddock Terry Hotel was an old shoe factory reinvented as a boutique-type hotel. The walls were stone - probably a foot thick - with brickwork and heavy structural supports above. This juxtaposed with the most elegant fixtures, granite shower and custom furnishings. Perhaps the softest bed I ever slept in. Just lovely.
I had spent an hour Sunday trying to secure a room - and feeling like a fool for waiting so long. Everything was booked, but this one had a cancellation just in the nick of time. Thank you, God for arranging our last night together someplace so special:
Wednesday morning we got Sophia's paperwork in order and then went back to the dorm and met her roommate. God definitely was in the details here. The two moms hit it off so well - it was like we had known each other for years. Tripp had had to stay home to take care of Jonny, but the dad and two moms and Maddy prayed for the two daughters. It was so wonderful to be in a place where people were on the same page and I was especially glad that this family also had a child with a disability - which may have been a factor in making them unusually real and authentic too.
We did some crying, then said goodbye as the moms chatting seemed to take the attention off the emotional process we were going through with our daughters.
Maddy and I took Sophia to lunch at Panera, then drove her back and said goodbye.
My baby girl, all grown up. I can see her whole life before me. So hard to believe it went by so fast.
I will miss her so!
Posted in Family, My life | Permalink
Comments
Beautiful hotel! I love the way you make such wonderful memories with your children. It's a lesson I'm learning about; it is never too late.
Posted by: Lela | August 14, 2008 3:09 PM
Oh Barbara,
First of all congrats to YOU! You and Tripp have worked so hard. And look! Shes going to college! Hello! What a joyous event. Oh man. All I can see in this post is my 2 going off to college. (are we gonna be able to afford sending twins off? They better get scholarships!) Man, it goes by really fast huh? Sometimes I get scared at how fast time is going. And mine are only 2. But then begins the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, ball practice/games, Confirmation, sleepovers, prom and graduation....................thats why I take so many pics. Thats why I have my blog. To record their lives.
Much love and blessings to your family!
-Shannon in Austin
Posted by: Shannon Best | August 14, 2008 3:13 PM
I went to college in Lynchburg at Randolph-Macon from 98-02. Lynchburg is such a wonderful town! I still love it so!! She will have a wonderful time there!!
That hotel is brand new, by the way!! It looks awesome!
Posted by: Jamie | August 15, 2008 9:34 AM
Barbara, I know just how you feel! My second oldest, Patrick, went back to college yesterday and my third child, Stephen, is leaving for a small Catholic college in Yanktown, South Dakota in a week. We won't see him until Christmas! Patrick is only 3.5 hours away so we will see him a couple of times this fall, but Stephen, oh, I hope he doesn't get too homesick! He is on the Men's Basketball team, so I pray he will find good friends with his teammates. They grow up in a twinkle of an eye! Despite how much I miss them, I am proud of them that they are capable of going to college and pray their time in college will help mature them both mentally and spiritually. I still have my only daughter in H.S. and my "6 pack" of sons (11 to 3)to nurture. That is another wonderful thing about having many children, you don't come home from setting one child up in college to an empty nest. Your family will be in my prayers for good adjustments in college and at home. Love, Julie c.m.
Posted by: Julie c.m. | August 15, 2008 1:54 PM
What a sweet post. Looks like a beautiful send-off for Sophia--just the right mix of gravitas and lightness.
Posted by: Alison | August 15, 2008 5:04 PM
Barbara-
The last three photos made me cry. I watched my best friend suffer through the wedding (and moving 3000 miles away) of her oldest (of 11) last year, and these photos brought back all that she went through. My oldest is still at home (12yo), so I have a while. God bless you for your pain as you left her there.
By the way, my nephew is a freshman at Liberty this year, too! I hope they bump into each other. He's a really neat young man.
Praying for you today,
Shannon
Posted by: Shannon | August 16, 2008 11:04 AM
Liberty is so different from when I was there (96-98)! If they're where I think they are, the stairs that Sophia is walking in that last picture used to be just a dirt path we lazy girls (and guys) wore into the hill. :)
I hope she has a wonderful time at Liberty. I have such sweet thoughts of my time spent there. It is where I met my husband.
I'll have to keep that riverfront hotel in mind for the next time we visit!
Posted by: Valerie | August 16, 2008 1:03 PM
we will be doing the same thing on Sunday. This is our second and "baby" so it will be especially bittersweet. I've been preparing myself for it for months (2 years, since dropping of my son) so I am as ready as I'll ever be. Still, your post and pictures made me cry.
Blessings and prayers for Johnny's foot,
Sandy
Posted by: Sandy C. | August 22, 2008 3:04 PM
