DD been at uni 5 weeks and still miss her every second!

[Happymum22]

I just got back from visiting my DD for the first time at uni, I'm so proud of her she struggled the first week or so with the shock of new city, new people, knowing no one, being away from home for the first time and being away from her group of home friends who she was extremely close to. She is now very settled, made friends, loves her uni and her course. I'm so happy she is ok. Such a relief after 2am phone calls during freshers of her in tears telling me she was coming home!!
I miss everything about her, I can't go into her empty bedroom without crying! I feel I should have accepted she's no longer around much but I haven't. I miss chatting to her, her coming in late at night, her depending on me, her sitting in the kitchen while I cooked dinner each night after work, I miss her friends always being at our house, just everything!!
It was very surreal seeing her 'new world' and being shown around by her, introduced to her friends etc. I know she misses me a lot, she told me. Shes having a hard time with her boyfriend who is at a nearby uni but they are drifting apart and I can tell she's not happy in her relationship, I know she will sort it out but I hate the thought of not being there for her to cry on!
I can't wait for Christmas!
Anyone else feel like this STILL?!

It gets better..honest.
My DD1 went last year and it was awful for us both! She is usually a confident girl but she was devastatingly homesick, and had one awful flatmate who made her life hell.

It hurt me SO much knowing she was lonely and miserable..she had never even slept alone before as she shares with her sister. It was just awful.

Sending her back after Xmas felt like abandoning her to the wolves to be honest (tho I never let her see that I felt like that) However she DID survive:)

My DD1 had the worst first year imaginable to be honest.. she loves her course, but the homesickness, bullying and pressure (she is doing medicine) took a massive toll and she came home a 6 stone anorexic.

Before you panic, I'm telling her story because... despite all of that, she went back this year, to a lovely shared house with supportive friends and she is SO much happier (and beating the anorexia with great support).. and consequently despite it all, so am I. I miss her terribly (still makes me tear up, even writing this) and can't wait to see her again soon, but the awful gaping HOLE that her absence made, has lessened 99%.. it feels normal for her not to be here, but just fantastic when she is!

(she's one of 4 so it's not like the house is suddenly quiet either... but that still didn't make it easier!)

It WILL get better..... hang in there!

(says me.. DD2 goes next year and then I will be just as bad again!! )

Ofcourse we all miss our children horribly when they go - miss being part of their day to day life and them being part of our day to day life. When things are tough for them all we want to do is dash down there and sort it out. But surely we have spent the last 18 years giving them the skills to cope with this one way or another - and we should enjoy their successes.
Unfortunately, we haven't spent the last 18 years preparing ourselves for this moment!