Rebuilding the Nest

After a full week as empty-nesters, we retrieved our college boy today and can now rebuild, er refill, the nest!

It's a good feeling.

The motel we stayed at last night was just over an hour away from Loyola University by the Chicago lakefront. While we were en route, I got my first unsolicited text from him all week. "Are we going to eat when you get here? I'm starving!"

Figures, eh?

Picked up Carter by noon, gave a him a quick not-too-embarrassing hug and were on the road quickly. We stopped at the first McDonald's we came to and got him squared away. Told him he could eat first then tell us about his week.

Maybe he was just tired or maybe he is just a teenage boy, but it took some effort to get details. He told us a little about the sightseeing (Navy Pier, Northwestern University and Willis Tower), his hands-on projects (remote-controlled helicopters, 3-D modeling and technical things I didn't understand), and his new friends.

He was most excited about the great group of guys he clicked with and hung out with all week. Like any college experience, he suddenly feels mature and closer to these new friends than some of his own classmates back here at home. We told him that is one of the great benefits of college – lifelong friends from all over the U.S. that you'd never have met otherwise.

Overall, he said the week was an incredible experience. Well worth attending. ...Then he took a nap.

Does he know yet what he wants to be when he grows up? No, not yet. But after leadership / career camp, he definitely has a lot of ideas.

I'm sure we'll work on those before he flies the coop again!