A Reminder of Home

Financial aid, health forms, housing, class scheduling, textbooks, packing - the logistical challenge of sending a child to college is daunting. Compound the process by launching two at once - this has consumed our summer. Of course, overshadowing all the administrative details is the emotional component, a fear that we won't stay connected, will they forget all about the parents who raised them these past eighteen years? I made sure to take customary precautions like sending along family photos and threatening to cut off their cell phone service if they don't call home regularly, but still I worried. Then, with only a week to go, I found Emily digging up weeds in the overgrown bank behind the house.

"Are those for the goats?" I asked, although this would not explain the heirloom milk-glass pot in the dirt next to her.

No, she explained that she had decided to transplant some of the wild meadow tea plants which I frequently plucked to brew a delicious, aromatic beverage during the summer months. She would nurture the plant on her dorm room windowsill, she told me, and steep the leaves in a mug of hot water to remind her of home. Nostalgia overwhelmed me as I recalled how in years gone by she would stand on a stool beside me, helping to add just the right amount of brown sugar to the pot...and then I knew this college thing was going to be all right. The bonds of home-brewed tea are not easily broken. I helped her with the arrangement, and by the night before "Move-in Day," the little plant had flourished.

Determined to fit all their belongings into one minivan, my organized loading scheme quickly fell into chaos. (I tried to eliminate unnecessary items, but Megan assured me that red stiletto heels and purple lipstick were definitely both on the mandatory freshman packing list...) I carefully set Emily's potted tea outside on the deck until it was time to leave.

Finally, just enough time to take care of the goats. I opened their gate, as I do every day, calling for them to follow me to their fenced field, as they do every day. Yet, when I looked back, the goats were not following me; in fact, the goats were nowhere to be seen. What on earth...? Then, horrified, I remembered. Not only do goats have supersonic hearing, they also have a supersonic sense of smell, which they had now used to scent and track down one of their favorite snacks just waiting for them on the deck...and by the time I got there, it was all over.

Once again, I ask myself, why???