My Baby's Gone

Eighteen years have come and gone, but it seems like only yesterday we brought Baby Calley home from the hospital. Now my baby isn't a baby anymore and has gone off to college. Let's go back to yesterday.

Anne and Chris were both off from work, and they wanted to take Calley to lunch for the last time before she left for school. So, Chris, Anne, Suey, Abby, Calley, and I went to lunch at the Pizza Factory in Pleasant Grove. We went there so Suey wouldn't have to come all way into Provo and Abby would still be able to take her afternoon nap before it got too late. Larry didn't go because he was home working. We had a great time together.

Calley packed most of her stuff for college yesterday too. She packed huge rolling suitcases so it would be easier to transport up to the third floor of her dorm. I think she did a really good job of packing away everything in her room and packing up things to take to college. She had been in contact with her new roommate through email, I think, so it was decided that Calley would take the bed against the window. That much was decided before we left home.

So, the plan was to leave on Thursday (today) about 1 PM so we could be there when the new roommate arrived cuz I wanted to meet her. But Calley had everything read to go by 11:30, so I quickly got dressed, Larry, Calley, and Chris packed the car, and then Larry, Calley, Anne, and I left for the University of Utah. We stopped at Sonic in Orem for lunch on the way out of town. Then on to SLC. We got to the Chapel Glen dorms about 1 pm or so. Calley got herself checked in and got her room key and her U of U id card, which she will use for everything including opening the outside door to the dorm. Then we began our two or three trips from the parking lot,traipsing up the sets of stairs to her room. Her roommate had not yet arrived, so after everything was in the room from the car, we helped Calley unpack her stuff. Larry and I wanted to take the suitcases back home with us cuz there was nowhere for Calley to store them. The room was of a nice size with two beds, two desks, and two chests of drawers, a single big closet, and a bathroom between the two rooms of the suite. Of course I had to go into the other room of the suite and introduce myself to the people over there. Calley came with me and introduced herself to her suitemates -- Kate from Cedar City and Catherine from Logan. We continued to help Calley unpack. I'm sure she really wanted us to leave, but we hung around and helped her anyway. She bought a mini refrigerator and also took a microwave from home to keep in her room. Larry, Anne, and I went to Smith's Marketplace and bought her some extra storage containers she could slip under her bed and took them back to her. Just before we left to go shopping, her roommate arrived -- Briahna Mounteer from Taylorsville. She had only brought some of her stuff with her, so they unloaded what little bit they brought and then went back home to get more.

When we returned with the storage containers, Calley had everything all put away. Her room looked cute. By that time it was after 4 PM and time for the new student / parent reception in the Heritage Center dining hall. When we got there, we were encouraged to go on in cuz the luau dinner was free for everybody. That was quite a deal. We stuffed ourselves. Calley met up with her friend Macey, who she was originally supposed to room with before she decided to enter the Honors program and live on the Honors floor with the other Honors College students. Only thing I don't like about the dorm is that it is co-ed. There are some guys that live down the hall from Calley's room. When I first entered college and lived in a dorm, guys had to stay downstairs in the lounge area. And when I lived in an apartment at BYU, no guys could go past the kitchen area -- definitely not into the bedroom area. So this co-ed stuff is quite a shock to me.

After we had dinner, it was time to say good-bye. So here Larry and I are at home in this big old house. Thank goodness Chris and Anne are living with us. But that won't last forever.

I am in the process of making scrapbook pages of all the photos I shot yesterday and today. Will post as soon as they're done.