Well, it has been a very quiet week at the McKiernan household. Lynnae, our daughter, has nobody to antagonize except me, which she does frequently. This is due to the fact that we hauled her brother James to Central Washington University last week. He started classes last Wednesday after a couple days of hunting, getting his books, figuring out his computer and finding the cafeteria. You are probably wondering how I know this … the answer is cell phones.

I used to hate having a cell phone. It meant I could easily be found or interrupted when doing something I thought was important. But life is much better with a cell phone. At first I thought it would be him calling me, feeling a bit homesick. But in reality, it was I who was calling, asking how classes were going, how his roommates were, did he figure out the computer and how was his truck running.

I know Karen is going through some of the same things I am but is being a bit more quiet about it. The main reason I know is that he’s getting the same calls and questions from his mother, something I realized when comparing notes with her at the end of each day.

His room is still a mess, although we have both agreed to gut it, paint it and clean the carpets. We haven’t quite figured out when to do that since we were informed this week that he may be coming home this weekend. Of course, I would rather have him home in a messy room then have a clean, recently painted room sit empty.

I know many parents, especially our friends, are going through the same things with their children leaving on various adventures. But I also know most would trade a messy room, dirty dishes and heaps of laundry on the couch for the sound of snoring coming from behind a closed bedroom door.

Oh and by the way, if you see me buying more macaroni and cheese or cups of noodles, those aren’t for him at college. It’s the result of our investment in his future; college is expensive.