This past weekend we drove to Ole Miss to move Matthew and his roommate Drew David into their dorm room. They moved in a week early because they had to attend a retreat for one of their scholarships they received. With my Excursion loaded to the brim with every possible thing we could squeeze in, Emily and I

made a quick stop in Jackson and then headed to Holly&8217;s townhouse to get a little sleep.

Early Saturday morning we got in the prerequisite lines so we could obtain keys and then the unloading began. After several trips up and down stairs and one big trip to Wal-Mart it was done.

Beds were made, rugs were in place, the futon situated and food and Dr. Peppers were in the refrigerator.

Drew and Matthew looked at us with the look that only a teenager can give, you know, the one that says &8220;OK, bye.&8221;

With teary eyes and a time set to meet for dinner we parents left.

As I drove to the townhouse I was flooded with memories of Matthew growing up and many of them involved the very campus we were on.

I remember Matthew at five years old on Friday nights packed up and ready to go by early evening waiting on his dad to get home from his rounds at the hospital so they could leave for Oxford. There was Matthew playing football in small towns all over Mississippi and then us driving (OK, me driving, him snoring) to Oxford at 2 and 3 in the morning. Then there were the endless discussions about colleges that all came back to where he wanted to be.

And here we were. I couldn&8217;t help but think of his dad and how happy he must be that now his son would walk the campus that he had introduced him to.

That night I met the David&8217;s at the Rib Cage for dinner and as we walked in the door there coming down the sidewalk with a new swagger and big grins were our &8220;college boys.&8221;

We ate dinner and stood on the side