There is a lot of nostalgia in the air this month for parents all over the world as their children return to school. No matter if you’re helping a kindergartener off to their first day of school or a college freshman settle into his or her dorm room, it’s not easy. Saying goodbye is never easy, and that holds true even if you’ve done it before. Yesterday, in a moving video posted to Instagram, Brooke Shields discussed the challenges of sending children to college for the second time.
The Pretty Baby star concluded that the “second time is NOT the charm” when it comes to sending off a child to college. Here she comes again in her second year. If you need me, you can find me sobbing…
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In the clip, a teary Shields can be heard saying, “So I just had to wave my daughter goodbye again.” She is referring to her 19-year-old daughter Rowan Francis, whom she shares with her husband Chris Henchy. Grier Hammond, 16, is also part of the duo. And I foolishly assumed the second time around would go more smoothly.
Rowan has “been away” to Wake Forest University once, she said, but she has spent the summer at home with her mother. The star of “A Castle for Christmas” continued by saying that she didn’t even have to say goodbye properly because she wasn’t driving her to school.
Shields continues, “She’s driving with her dad.” But now she’s driving the car that was given to me as a graduation present, and I told her, “It was just too painful.” I don’t think I could handle the stress of leaving campus again in my car.
So if you’re going through this and you’re not alone, I’m sorry. “Ugh, it’s so hard,” she cries, “but we’re all in this together. I’ve already begun to miss her.
The model’s parents showed their unwavering support by writing, “Love love for you.” Added another, “So sweet. The thought of you making me cry was too much. Love and hugs sent your way.
Someone even went so far as to say, “I totally feel the same way!” And someone else chimed in, “It sux! I’ve got three kids in college.” Is it inevitable that our hearts will continue to be broken forever? Oy-ve! 😔
Shields revealed the emotional toll of her daughter’s first year away at university last year. She penned, “My extraordinary and one-of-a-kind baby girl taking her first flight. I adore you. There are few things in the life of which we are more proud than you. I’ve never been more miserable about leaving a place than I was on that car ride. But right now, my little girl is embarking on the journey of a lifetime.
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When asked about her career goals in May, Rowan said, “I want to be a broadcast journalist,” and she even interviewed her mother for Entertainment Tonight.
The man behind the movement “The Beginning Is Now” once advised, “I always say, make sure that you find a vocation that you absolutely love and do the hardest, work the hardest at it. If you want to get ahead, you need to get started wherever you can. Remember that there is no such thing as a “small job,” and keep your sights set on your ultimate career goals.
It may be challenging now, but it will be well worth it, in the long run, to see your daughter realize her potential. Stay strong, mom!
