When I sent my daughter, Emma, off for her freshman year of college a few years ago, I found myself affected by an unbelievable feeling of melancholy. Clearly, I'm not alone. Just last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 90 percent of colleges offer to help moms and dads who are “struggling with the change.”
Between Thanksgiving, winter holiday, spring break and summer break, the first one out of my nest has come fluttering back home nearly every month of the year since she has been away. Good friends like to joke that they see more of her now than they did when she was a senior in high school. In the meantime, Emma calls, texts or e-mails me almost every day.
Given all this, missing Emma seems kind of silly;I've never really gotten the chance. So why, then, have I still felt on some level that I've experienced a great loss?
All summer long before Emma left that first year, I took Emma out for countless mother-daughter breakfasts, lunches, coffees and walks. At the same time, I seemed to find fault with Emma all the time. In my eyes, Emma had spent the weeks leading up to school going out with her friends too much, staying out way too late, making too big a mess, not working enough and, for goodness sake, certainly not spending enough time with me!
Although it's taken quite a while to realize what was happening, I now understand that my unhappiness and anxiety are not a reflection of how much time Emma and I spend together. Regardless of how often she comes home, or how many times a day we chat or text, Emma is now gone in a far grander sense. She is well on the road to adulthood, and from this, she will never return.
4. What does the underlined word “melancholy” in paragraph 1 refer to?
A.Fierce anger. | B.Deep sadness. |
C.Extreme excitement. | D.Great satisfaction. |
5. Why does it seem silly for the author to miss her daughter?
A.They keep in touch frequently. | B.Friends like to make fun of her. |
C.Emma has grown up to an adult. | D.Other parents don't behave like this. |
6. What actually made the author overly worried?
A.The untidiness of Emma's room. | B.The passing of Emma's childhood. |
C.Taking Emma out all too often. | D.Spending little time with Emma. |
7. What is the best title for the text?
A.Changes in the Parent-Child Relationship | B.The Most Concerned Parents of All Time |
C.Growing Pains for College Students | D.Struggling to Let Go of My Daughter |