Move-in weekend was held the past Friday and Saturday at dozens of colleges and universities in Georgia and elsewhere in our country. For our family, Friday, August 14, 2026, was move-in day for our daughter, Dixie, a freshman at the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick. We had actually made a trip a previous weekend to place most of the items in a secure garage, fearing that we could not take all of it in one trip in three vehicles.

Her check-in time was 8 a.m., and I had asked her to select the earliest time since I wanted to sweep and mop the floor before we started moving all of it in the room. Thankfully, it was relatively clean, but moms usually like to do their own final mopping and bathroom cleaning, wiping down the ceiling fan blades and mini-blinds, and Windexing the mirror and windows. She also wanted me to make her bed for her before I left. She could have done that, of course, but maybe that was just for a little more delay and personal touch.

Still, moving out of one’s lifelong home is a scary proposition, especially when your mom has pretty much made sure all was seen about on a daily basis. I also did that for our three sons until they left for college, and they were all fine when they moved into dorms or apartments. I have always thought it was more cost effective in water and electricity to wash our clothes together instead of allowing the boys and Dixie to wash their own separately. I don’t think our boys ever “pinked” any of their clothing with a red shirt. Also, to be on the safe side, I have advised to wash clothing in cold water. It has worked.

Dixie had a selection of pictures to place on her walls, even a skeletal diagram from our older son, Shawn, who is now deceased, that she discovered in the attic, along with other items of which she simply liked. Of course, it wasn’t what I would have chosen, but I am 74 and she is 18, so that is understandable.

Her first night was rather eventful, with the fire alarm being pulled four times during the night, one at 3 a.m., with everyone required by the fire department to evacuate while all was checked. Her dad, Terry, mentioned that it sounded like perhaps a student had chosen not to stay in the dorm or college, since there are cameras in the halls. However, no reports had been heard of as Sunday of the culprits.

Dixie’s dorm situation is very different from my one quarter while a freshman at Georgia Southern in Anderson Hall. I was on the second floor (or maybe third floor), just stairs, no elevators, and I don’t think it was air conditioned. A large bathroom was provided for our end of the hall to share, as I recall. We married in June of 1969, and Terry was ordered to Ft. Dix, New Jersey, in January 1970. I stayed in the dorm spring quarter 1970 since he would not be arriving home until the middle of July from his six months National Guard basic training. (My roommate was from New Jersey, not very friendly, and she reeked of marijuana, along with her long-haired boyfriend, and I don’t think she bathed daily; remember, this was in the early 1970s and there was a lot of “free love” going around.)

Of course, Dixie’s dorm is air conditioned, and there are elevators to the above ground floors. It is cool and comfortable, although my old 1970s dorm room was significantly larger. Yes, everything is more compact today.

Also, the dorms now are co-ed, and when we toured them last year, I was at first shocked to find that out, since that certainly wasn’t the case at Georgia Southern in 1970.

This past Friday, the freshmen and their families were provided with large carts on rollers that could be pushed into the elevator and rolled to the door of the rooms and unloaded, making it much easier than carting all the items piecemeal from three vehicles. Men of all ages offered their help in transporting apartment size refrigerators to the rooms and disposing of a mountain of cardboard boxes that had contained these refrigerators, microwaves, air fryers, and small ice machines, the latter that we were told was a “must” for the dorm room. Of course, large screen TVs were evident as well. Several of the men assisting were from local churches and invited the students to their services.

We decided on plastic drawers for Dixie’s clothes to augment the three provided, but we watched full size dressers, large headboards, and full-size refrigerators being unloaded.

For Terry, he kept commenting, “This is a sad day.” For me, the feelings are mixed. Dixie will be 19 in December, and it is time to flex her wings and fly somewhat by herself. However, we purchased a few grocery items on Friday afternoon, which we took to her at a farewell brunch for parents held on Saturday morning. Following the brunch, the freshman students were bussed to Jekyll Island for photos on the beach.

Several text messages were exchanged during the day between us, and then we headed back to Glennville. She will get accustomed to the routine of classes, which for her are Monday-Thursday this semester, and her parting words were that she would see us Thursday evening.

We have had a child in our household for 53 consecutive years, so now it is time for a new chapter for us as well. Finally, we are weekday empty nesters, since Dixie said she would be home every weekend. We shall see!