Brainy Bird and I enjoyed brunch at Halls Chophouse. Halls officially wins my top ranking for restaurants in Columbia. We finished brunch around eleven, leaving us with two hours until our move-in time. The university specifies that one should not arrive prior to their move-in time.
We decided to check out the zipline at the nearby zoo. We purchased Brainy Bird a membership to the zoo. He can visit for free as often as he would like, and he can bring a guest. This also meant that we could use it that day, so as long as he comes back at least one time with a guest, the membership pays for itself. The zipline disappointed us by being closed, but we could see that it is definitely worth a return trip. The zoo made for the perfect way to kill time. We got exercise in, and the zoo grounds are mostly shaded, so we did not get too hot.
I looked at my watch, and I found that it was time to head to Brainy Bird’s new home. The move-in process could not been more seamless. I expected chaos and long waits for parking, a move in cart, and the elevator. We did not wait at all. I got to meet Brainy Bird’s suite mates as they happened to have the same move-in time. We had Brainy Bird completely moved in and organized in under two hours. We both enjoyed the time.
I then took some pictures and asked Brainy Bird to walk with me to the dumpster for the bit of trash we had, and then on to my car. He gave me a surprised look, “You are leaving? I thought you are here another night.”
My response, “Yes, I still have the hotel room, but you are officially here now and parent free! Now, go have some fun and make some new friends!”
Brainy Bird beamed at the thought of this. We walked to the dumpster where we found that we had to flatten the only box we needed to discard. Brainy Bird borrowed a pocket knife from a man with his daughter standing at the dumpsters cutting down their own boxes. My heart jumped a bit as stood back and watched the interaction. The man appeared charmed by Brainy Bird, and the daughter could not take her eyes off of him. I chuckled to myself as the exchanged ended with Brainy Bird saying to the daughter, “Nice to meet you. I will see you around.” Am I having another heat stroke or did that girl just gush at this?
I secretly love that Brainy Bird lives in the honors dorm because I know he is meeting smart girls there. Brains are not everything, but they are a solid starting point to a good match for Brainy Bird.
I did not cry at all. The whole time we were engaged in the move-in process, I looked around and saw that Brainy Bird is surrounded by amazing kids. Kids he fits in with, but kids that are not at all like him other than their good grades. Brainy Bird has been ready for college and ready to be on his own for a long time. I am so happy he found the right place to be.
Half of my heart now lives in South Carolina.