On August 21, 2025 I walked away from him with tears in his eyes. Within an hour, another parent sent me a video of him filming a Tik Tok with his newly made friends. That put my heart at ease although it would become heavy for the next few weeks as I adjusted to his absence.

Before he left for school we made a deal that every Sunday we would talk. That lasted for two weeks. But I’d get texts and calls throughout the week. When he was struggling I’d hear from him more, when he was thriving I could barely track him down. I adapted to the way he needed to communicate and obsessively tracked him on Life360 for my own peace of mind.

This first year went by fast and full.