My daughter's dorm move-in date is nine weeks from today exactly, and I alternate between thinking that day can't get here soon enough and thinking about how much I'll miss her when she's gone. She's an only child and the house will seem empty and quiet when she's gone-it does when she spends the night with a friend or goes on vacation with one. I will miss our daily conversations and laughs, I will miss the fact that we can look at each other most of the time and know that we're thinking the same thing about a person or situation, but I can't say that I'll miss her quick temper (which has gotten worse over the past few months) and the fact that she clearly thinks that I am a complete idiot and live my life for the sole purpose of getting on her nerves most days (trust me, I have better things to do with my time.) I also won't miss the fact that she's the world's pickiest eater and I will no longer have to plan the household meals around what she won't eat, which is a lot of things. She is a good kid for the most part and has not given us nearly as much trouble as most of the kids we know have given their parents, but there are definitely things about her personality that I won't miss. I hope that her being away will make her appreciate her home life and realize how much her father and I do for her, and I hope that she'll miss us and want to communicate with us still. Time will tell, I guess.