When Move In Day came, we were nothing but excited! All year, Ella's been receiving the cutest gifts for her dorm room. She couldn't wait to meet her roommate in person and start getting it all set up! The move in process was so organized and easy! Ella was given a time slot to arrive. Being a 3rd (top) floor room, she was in one of the first morning slots. Every athlete at the school made themselves available for Move In Day. Groups of kids in Softball, Golf, Cross Country and Water Polo shirts immediately greeted our car and whisked all her stuff up to the room in a matter of minutes!
Ella and Elizabeth met on a roommate finder app that matched them based on compatibility. They've been talking almost daily for months. Ella is optimistic that they will live together comfortably, even if they don't end up being best friends. Elizabeth is local and in a week has already spent a good amount of time at home. But, Ella doesn't mind; she's found a wonderful core group of girlfriends on her floor so she's definitely not lonely.
Unloading all the tubs and making her space cozy was a highlight. Some of Ella's favorite things are her string lights, industrial desk lamp, privacy curtains, saucer chair, and artwork featuring the patents of rock climbing gear. Much of this a gift from you, Reader, so thanks! :)
The girls lofted their beds to create their own studying and sleeping areas. But the picture above shows only HALF the room! The other side is their wardrobes (which are huge; Ella has empty drawers!) on the wall with the door and then a sitting area by Elizabeth's bed and a bookcase/kitchen space by Ella's bed. The table in the middle is for puzzles and games and dorm-cooked meals.
Ella loves her fluffy bed too! She picked out the softest bedding and filled it with fun pillows. Since this picture, posters of colorful wildflowers have been added to her sleeping area.
After a morning of settling in, we all had lunch in the cafeteria with Elizabeth. This is not the crappy college cafeterias Dave and I endured! Ella gets to enjoy legit chefs who cook delicious meals from local, sustainable ingredients. She will have the option every day of 6 stations including Home Cookin' (meat and potatoes type food), Chef's Table (fresh), the Pizzeria, 6th Street Cafe (burgers, tacos, etc), or The Garden (amazing salad and sandwich bar). DOLE WHIP in the soft serve machine is another SoCal perk! As is half the Caf seating being lovely, outdoor patio seats!
Our dinner the first night was catered by Chick Fil A and with the School of Science that Ella will be a part of. Through her Zeemee app (the same one that connected her and her roommate), she's been meeting and texting lots of new friends, including fellow Biology and Biochemistry majors. On this night, she was able to meet some of these friends in person. We loved sharing dinner with them and their families. Conversation was easy with these new people who felt so familiar, they too have dedicated themselves to raising kids who love learning and love the Lord.
All summer, Ella had a faculty member praying and fasting for her by name. The trees around campus were draped with these prayers and blessings written by the staff for the students!
Ella's dorm is going to be a super fun place to live! Besides having huge rooms, it also has an energetic vibe! It's a coed, all-freshman dorm, so everyone was raring to meet new friends and start building community. At a special regional breakfast, we met other families from the Central Valley. I connected with one mom in particular whose son went to one of our rival Christian schools and also lives in Ella's dorm. We spent the day together, attending all the parent seminars and hugging and crying by the end of it. We've exchanged numbers and have already texted a bunch. This is the new community Ella's college has gifted us-- the warmest, kindest people, open to sharing their faith stories, dreams, and fears; making the bond strong even when the time together has been short.
The thing I appreciated most about these 2 days was how the school acknowledged all our feelings about this monumental change in our family and lives and worked hard to connect and equip us. We went to all different sessions about things like campus safety or how to help our student succeed academically, emotionally and spiritually. I now know how the college will protect and support Ella in possibly every circumstance-- from an earthquake to feelings of failure and anxiety when she gets her first B in a class. ;) The best thing the school did, though, was cover the whole experience in prayer and worship. Both nights of orientation we all came together on the lawn to sing and hear encouragement from speakers. It was all so Christ-centered!
We all knew exactly when goodbye would be too, a luxury another friend has since told me we should totally appreciate. After a powerful worship service, the school encouraged each family to share a prayer and communion time together. As we clung to one another, tears streaming down our faces, Dave led the 4 of us through the most beautiful communion service, then prayed an amazing blessing over Ella. We'll remember this special time forever. Long, teary goodbye hugs followed.
We walked with Ella back to the middle of campus and parted ways at the giant painting of Jesus that we always thought was kind of funny. But as I took a last look back at Ella, I loved the image of her walking away into Jesus' outstretched arms. That's what this whole season has been about really. Sending Ella away to this expensive school has always been a step of faith for our family. She's felt such surety in her calling here. Over and over we were affirmed that this is exactly where the Lord wants her and it's into His hands that we entrust her, having seen His hand in every part of the process.
We drove back to our hotel, feeling sad and spent a few minutes sitting there in a kind of dazed numbness until we had the impulsive idea to make a 10:30 pm run to Downtown Disney! We were there in a matter of minutes and cheered ourselves up with the magic of Disney, plus this decadent chocolate milkshake from Crazy Shake, and some fantastic exhausted-guests-leaving-Disneyland-at-midnight people watching. It was yet another perfect core memory with our new family trio!
On Saturday our 4 days of family fun in LA came to a close as we made our way back home again-- with one last little stop at an iconic LA spot for our donut-loving youngest. This was all one week ago and I can report that since goodbye, there have been no more tears! God has given us such peace and happiness for Ella! We text with her every day and have talked on the phone twice. She sends pictures of her friends viewing the super moon on top of their parking garage, or of her delicious lunch, or updates on her classes (which she loves!), or all the fun floor dinners, movie nights, coffee dates, and rollerblading parties she's having. We know she's in a bit of a honeymoon phase right now, but she's thriving as we knew she would!
