Finally

 I posted these pictures on Facebook and my best beach friend replied:   "Best Day Ever!" because she knows and she gets it and she loves me and was happy for me.  

I saw other mothers on Facebook doing the same and it felt strange to see their tears and read their beautiful posts about how they would miss them and how these years passed in a flash and they were the BEST EVER.    I remembered a little bit about Thomas the Tank Engine and weekly trips to the library and wanted to get misty about it, but it just didn't come.

I have to be honest and say, yep, BEST DAY EVER!

He has been living in that room for three months now and the stress for the rest of us has greatly lessened.   It's like we have come up for air and can breathe again.  

If he leaves the dorm for an extended time he stays with my parents, he prefers that.   He hasn't slept here since the end of August.   He is ten minutes away and I have been over twice, both times to take him to an urgent care because he was convinced he was dying of something......he is 18 and stopped taking his medicine and, therefore, his anxiety is high.   I finally convinced him to try a new prescription and he says it is helping.   I wouldn't know because I rarely see him but he asked for a refill so I guess that is a good sign.

He calls every Monday threatening to drop out because he is failing most of his classes.   I remind him he will have to leave the dorm and he changes his mind.   Academic probation is in his future.    He swears he will do better next semester and he should as he has signed up for twelve hours of the most easy and unnecessary classes that are offered but we are okay with that if he can just stay the rest of the year in that now filthy disgusting room.

He loves it and we love it.  

He's made friends and has a girlfriend.    His high school friends were coming around for a while but they seem to have faded away.   He is sad about it and I am too, for him, just remembering my own breaking away from that life, but it will be better for him.   I hope.

We spent Thanksgiving day with him.  It was almost nice.   He still hates Elizabeth.   She still hates him.  

He came over to help decorate the tree and he actually hugged me.   He said, "I like you better when I don't live here.".  

Ditto, kiddo.