This week, I’m thinking deeply about summer transitions and the emotional season before children leave for college. There is so much attention placed on applications, financial aid, orientation, and move-in logistics that we sometimes forget how significant this transition can feel for families.

If you have already experienced sending a child off to college, what is one thing you wish you had known the summer before they left?

One thing I wish I had remembered is that some colleges begin in mid-August. I thought we had more time and I work in higher ed!! Move in happens so quickly and suddenly the summer became a blur of shopping lists, paperwork, scheduling, emotions, and moments of realization that life was about to change.

The summer before college preparation for students AND a transition for parents, caregivers, siblings, and families too.