My oldest graduated this past May. His senior year was filled with a whirlwind of emotion - from me, not him. He took it all in stride and had a great year. Meanwhile, this mom, normally not a crier, seemed to cry at the drop of a hat. Even innocuous things that had nothing to do with him - like the time I was driving home from getting groceries and started welling up because he was "leaving me" for college soon - had me in a chokehold. Uffda. I'm going to blame crazy "getting old" hormones or something.
Anyway, having one less kid in summer activities has given me a little bit more time but has also changed the things I'm thinking about. Instead of worrying about when he needs to be at practice or the next baseball game, I'm wondering what he still needs for his dorm and worrying he's getting all the required things done before he heads off to college in the fall. I'm trying real hard (and failing at times) to let him do it himself and figure out everything he needs to with his newfound "adulthood". Thankfully he has still called me several times to ask questions and make me feel at least a tiny bit needed...this new parenting is going to be a struggle for me, for sure. I've never thought of myself as a helicopter mom, but this has definitely made me feel like I have been.