Nothing speeds up time quite like becoming a parent. One minute you’re rocking a newborn to sleep, and the next minute you’re suddenly dropping off your grown-up child at college.
If you have ever shed tears of joy (and sorrow) as you watched your children leave the nest, you are not alone. Even celebrities like Kelly Ripa can relate to this uniquely sweet pain of parenting.
The star of “Live with Kelly and Ryan” shared a photo in which she’s giving her daughter Lola a big kiss as she heads off to college.
The freshman is bound for New York University, and Ripa says many people believe this makes the transition easier for her (as Ripa and her husband, Mark Conselous, also live in New York), but Ripa disagrees.
“Your friends go, ‘At least she’s nearby.’ And I go, ‘Yeah, but that’s not good,’ because if she feels homesick, I have to say to her, ‘No, you can’t come home, you’re gonna have to work it out … whatever you’re going through, figure it out,'” Ripa recently said during an appearance on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.”
Meanwhile, some parents are dropping off their college freshmen much farther away.
In this video, shot by a fan and shared on Instagram, we see Angelia Jolie taking her son Maddox to school. Maddox is starting his first year of college in South Korea, and his proud mom admitted she was trying to hold back tears as she prepared to leave her baby.
Watch the video shared by Instagram user @xx_efu below:
Even when your child is staying Stateside, goodbyes are still tearful and bittersweet.
Jessica Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, shared a beautiful photo of her family just before their daughter Sascha headed off to college.
And one on drop-off day:
Sascha is going to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and the Seinfelds’ 16-year-old son Julian will soon be choosing his own college, too.
No wonder these parents are both proud and emotional as they wish their eldest child safe travels.
Here’s wishing all these excited freshmen a fun year of learning and exploration.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
