Abby Goes to College

Abby chose UVU for college.

At first she was thinking Weber which I liked the idea of better because she would be closer :)

However, after  making  a pro and  con list with T she decided Utah Valley would be a better choice for her....which is fine...I'm fine.

We drove her down (she and Matt in the Corolla and me and Andy in the van...Ben stayed home with Mom and Dad) the Monday before school started.

She found lodging at Raintree which is in Provo so she will have a short commute to Orem.

When we found her apartment none of the other girls were there (it was carpet cleaning day) so she just chose the room that had a cute little note on the door welcoming her if she wanted to stay there.

We helped her get set up, which didn't take long.

I tried not to be bothered by the bugs in the pantry, the overflowing garbage, the ripped up couch and the missing parts of flooring.

I also tried not to worry about the interesting vibe I was getting from her roommate's belongings :)

I was comforted a bit to see a picture of the St George temple in the dining area and something on the fridge about the ward to which they belonged.

Truly, I was feeling very unsettled but, as I was standing alone in the living room for a minute, I was blessed with a brief feeling of peace that allowed me to not break down in tears.

Abby was very upbeat and seemed very excited to be taking this next step in her life's journey.

Matt was super helpful 😂

We went to a pizza place that James suggested and had lunch with him and Merill and Nancy.

(I could have sworn I got pictures with them too but I can't find them anywhere :(

We then drove to the Institute at UVU and got Abby set up with a parking pass that she can use in their lot as long as she keeps 75% attendance :)  What a great incentive!

On the way back to the restaurant where we had left her car, we video called Josh since it was a Monday.

We chatted with him for a few minutes and caught him up on our day with Abby.

He was able to be with us as we said our goodbyes to Abby.

I think she felt a little abandoned as we were all getting in one car and she was left to go back to her apartment alone.  I wish she had had a friend to be with when we left 🥲

I did shed a few tears on the drive home.

However, something that I had forgotten until now as I write this 2.5 months later, even though I was not super comfortable with the situation in which we had left our daughter, each time I thought about her I felt the Spirit giving me peace.  Literally, every time she came to my mind on the drive home, I felt the warmth of the Spirit that I had felt standing in her apartment before we left.  Even now, as I write this, I feel the same comforting assurance.  Such a blessing for this scared, worried, emotional Momma's heart.