off with the boy

This weekend we took Noah to college.

We drove him and all his stuff down to Champaign and dropped him off at ISR. I remember when I was starting out at the U of I, I had been carefully organizing and packing boxes for weeks. It wasn't just because I'm obsessive like that, but also because I couldn't wait to move out. Packing boxes made me feel like it was coming sooner than it actually was. Noah was much more laid-back about the whole process. The day before he left, he threw all his stuff into laundry baskets that Mom had given him. The morning of, we shoved it all in the suburban and left.

It took about 30 minutes to get him moved in and unpacked.

I guess he actually didn't have that much stuff. Also, they were super-duper organized about handling traffic on campus that day. Lincoln avenue was an absolute assembly-line machine! Then, when we pulled up to ISR, they had friendly sophomores in orange shirts ready with wheeled carts. They dragged all of Noah's stuff, in two loads, to his room.

His roommate is supposedly from Korea, but he didn't arrive all weekend, as far as I've heard. Thus, Noah got first dibs on the top bunk and the desk on the opposite wall. I climbed up to make the bed and jumped up and down trying to get the fitted sheet around the mattress while I was kneeling on it. I guess I also unpacked books onto a shelf. Mom folded clothes. There really wasn't much to do. Before long, Noah was like, "Okay guys, you can leave me alone now."

It just seemed like such an insignificant beginning to a very significant life transition. Noah's a freshman in college now! My little brother!! But you know what? He's ready. Even as of what I've seen of him this summer, he has matured so much. I give him my vote of confidence that he is ready to live on his own, go out and have his own experiences, act intelligently, think critically, and have fun.