UCB

My baby has gone off to college. For the first time in a long time, we were a complete family this week. So we set off last night to take family photos on the eve of her sent off. And the pics were wonderful. I love them. My foursome. And this morning after rendevous with Jeni and her parents at the town library, off we set for UC Berkeley to help my girl check into her dorm. It was a bit of hassle finding out where to park so we could unload the boxes of her stuff and where to queue to get her room key and get a trolley but it was not too bad. It was pretty organized once you understand the process and we did not queue for long at any of the different lines. The weather helped - sunny yet cool.

The room was small but comfy for a double. Of course with 10 people crammed into it, it was almost standing room only. It was noon and time for lunch after making the bed. But we were told to go to a parents briefing session and by the time we had everyone together after the talks, it was 5 past 2:00 pm and we missed the free lunch for families. The unimpressive Thai lunch blew an unreasonably big hole in my wallet for the amount we were served. Ouch!

Berkeley. Behomian, jealously protective of its diversity and totally irreverent of "norms" of the larger society. That's where my baby will spend the next four years. I know she will know how to take care of herself, yet the parental strings tug at the heart and you want to hold her near so she will always be safe. You would think after 2 college kids, one would get jaded.

She could not wait to get back to unpack all the boxes. But we held back. Sharing some precious teasing moments at the dining hall, taking advantage of the free bbq dinner for families. But the kids were all nibblers. The girl will be hungry tonite in the dorm. Hopefully the four bananas we took from the dining hall will make up for the lack of bulk in the single bowl of soup she had.

So we are back in the house watching the Olympics men's marathon and I am here blogging about my baby packing off to college.