<p>I know this is the college parents forum, but I lurk here for advice and information on the journey ahead. I am a boarding school parent whose only child left this past September at 14 to attend a school almost 3,000 miles from home. Missing him? You bet, but Im surprised at the depth of that feeling. DH and I are in our mid-fifties and had twenty years together before DS came along unexpectedly. Weve always looked forward to the time when wed be a couple again, but we didnt expect it to happen so soon. Our son has always been fiercely independent, but we didnt expect him to take so readily to boarding school. Hes thriving and happy but, like us in college, doesnt give his parents much thought. It didnt really dawn on me until after he left that, for all intents and purposes, BS is just like collegehe wont be coming home again ever except for breaks between terms/school years. He considers himself launched, but I cant say Im really ready to accept that after only 14 years. Like other posters, I linger in his room and feel a deep sadness, much deeper than I had expected. However, I know that the sadness is only on my end. My child feels/knows none of this. He is happier than hes ever been, so I try to balance my feelings of loss with knowing that hes excited about his journey, and hes getting a great education. Its very hard not to be there to watch him grow up (it seems hes become a young man in a very few months) or to be there for all the usual high-school experiences. So, we cheer him on from afar, hold him tight when hes home, talk to him via e-mail and Skype, love him with care packages, wait for his calls, and adjust as best we can to our new life. If there is any upside, its that weve experienced the college separation early, so that transition should not be another adjustment.</p>