Move out!

The view of the mountains from her window at Westfall

 3/21/2020

Well, it wasn't really said like that...

So how is this COVID-19 thing affecting our adult students. I don't have specifics on ALL the Universities across our great country, but I do know that MOST of them are approaching things in a very similar way.

Our windshield the morning of her move out

Our oldest attends school at Colorado State University (#gorams). We have a nephew & niece at other colleges; all 3 of them are in different states. They are all doing school online. Our daughter WAS living in a dorm at CSU. As you can imagine these dorms run a very high risk of becoming one of these "hot spots" for viral spread. I can also imagine that even if many of the cases were mild; having a large volume of sick kids, professors and other employees would probably affect their semester more than moving out & moving the classes online.

The move out process at CSU was very organized. Each student signed up for a 4 hour appointment. We were able to get a very early appointment; before her spring break would have even been over, and I am relieved at that. We were able to get in just as restaurants were starting to close their dining rooms, but we were still able to get dinners each evening. We had hotels to stay in, gas stations to stop for snacks & diesel and clear roads for our long drive. A small volume of students will be allowed to remain in the dorms at CSU and they are working very hard to make sure the kids that NEED housing (international students or those with housing insecurities) are able to stay. Ultimately the plan will be to move these students into appropriate dorms (avoiding community style dorms and utilizing the suite-style dorms). They will also leave one dining center located near the suite-style dorms open for take-out only. The other dorms will be sanitized in order to prepare them for next year.

Almost all moved out

We were instructed to have only the student and 1 "assistant" at the move out. We were told NOT to help others, for the safety of all. This was VERY hard and everyone could tell. At move in it was a community effort. Students (and even some fathers who were done moving & waiting for the moms to finish decorating) all helped each other. Carrying boxes up flights of stairs & in crowded elevators, holding doors, picking up dropped items & just generally cheering each other on! Move in felt like it went SO fast. Move out felt like it took days.

We did it though. Just the 2 of us. We made the drive & moved ALL the things. I wish I had taken a picture of my truck all loaded down with ALL of the things AND 2 bikes, but I forgot.

We are home now. Starting to find our new rhythm. I would say "see you later 501" but she will not be living in the same place next year; as is very common for college students.

Empty & looking a lot like it did when she moved in

It was an abrupt end to her first year away from home. I am pretty sure she handled it better than I did. I am sad for our kids. I am amazed by the sacrifices people are having to make; freshman year shortened, graduations postponed (hopefully), large wedding celebrations cancelled in exchange for a small private ceremony, funerals done in private hoping for a memorial celebration later, birthday parties cancelled, I could go on. In general though, I am watching my own kids handle all of this FAR better than I am. They are so strong and living through this will only make them stronger. I am so proud of them!

So long 501!