You're right on time.

(Trust me)

Nothing has brought my daughter and I closer than sending her off to college. She’s just a few hours away from us, but her visits back have been limited to major holidays and the occasional weekend night when she has a ride back to the city and enough space in her busy schedule.

I am honored to be the person she calls when she is killing time between classes, a voice to fill the space as she walks from one side of campus to the next. I love hearing niche drama from the dorms and lecture halls, and offering my two cents when the moment allows or — more rarely — when I am explicitly asked.

I love having the chance to soothe her thrumming anxiety, because even though we share 0.0% genetic material we do share a certain kind of brain; both of us are wired to live like life is a train that already pulled out of the station, a runaway locomotive we have to sprint to catch up with.

Stop Being Mean To Yourself!

One night, she texted my husband and I to tell us that she wasn’t able to register for a specific class required for her application to the nursing program, and was officially — insert doom-inducing music here — BEHIND.

Two days later, she texted us to let us know that her Spanish Fluency Certificate counted for enough credits that she was — insert a joyous cacophony here — AHEAD.

Each time, I told her the same thing.

No, you’re not.