I had a wonderful summer, dare I say it was the best I have ever had. Yet I never left my hometown at any time during this season , and I gained a good solid 8 pounds. I  watched bad T.V. and ate all the food . ALL THE FOOD. I  took walks , had conversations that turned into life lessons and went out for late night runs to Twistee Treat - I  mentioned all the food, right? The best part was I did not do this alone, actually if did that would be scary... I  did it with my sweetest, best-est friend who also happens to be my daughter. It was a summer of lasts and we knew it. We were not going to fight about stupid stuff, we were going to laugh, watch dumb You Tube videos and shop. The shopping was second only to eating in time spent together. Every weekend was a marathon of dorm decorating and lunches. The nine weeks from graduation until today went by at warp speed. Today was the day my little girl left to go away to college and I had to let her go. Granted she is 30 minutes away, and will no doubt come home a lot , or as often as she needs her laundry done. But she left her room, her doggies and her home of 18 and a half years this afternoon and life will never be the same. Her life, and my life all changed forever. I am no longer the one she sees when she rolls out of bed, hair a mess, Superman t-shirt on whining for coffee. I  am not the person she will run to anymore to show the stupidest cat or dog video ,or ask me to watch an Insagram influencer with her . Those moments are to be shared with her new people, the people who will become her college friends, and ,more than likely , her life long friends. And I'm happy for her, so much so that I  ignored my nausea and panic these last 9 weeks to have the best time and further solidify our relationship. Today the stuff came out of the boxes we have been collecting for the past three months and was put to use and became the backdrop of her new home for the next school year.  Her room is great, her view is spectacular and her two roommates are adorable. She is at a top notch school in a fabulous city that she has always wanted to live in the heart of. She is ready. I am getting there, between bouts of crying and smiling to myself. From the minute they put this little girl in my arms I  knew she was meant to do great things, and I was meant to be thereto witness it. So this is Day One. So, as this summer ends and her life begins I know that she'll be fine in this new arena of independence and self awareness. I  just want to thank her for the best summer I  have ever had , a summer of nothing special was in fact the summer of everything I could ever want.