When my son, now a rising college senior was in high school, I got banned from his college tours. My oohing, ahhing and opinionated commentary during our first tour led to his request to visit schools alone with his dad. I was somewhat relieved as the prospect of my firstborn leaving the nest was weighing heavily on my mind. I pretended to be offended, yet accommodating, and happily retreated to a blissful state of denial.
But then came the one tour that his dad and I had to divide and conquer. Because it was close to home, we decided that I would accompany the young scholar to the information session, and his dad would join us for the campus tour. We navigated our way through the city, pulling into the nearest underground garage and miraculously found a spot.
The unusually crisp summer day felt more like fall and I couldn’t help but comment on the gorgeous baskets of annuals as we walked towards the visitor’s center. “Here we go,” my son remarked. “We’re not even one block from the garage and you’re already judging.”