Loss of the familiar

Well in a short time Emily will be leaving for Texas... and then what? I knew this year was going to be about change, knew it was around the corner, and knew I wouldn't be ready for it when it came. Is anyone ever ready to let go of a special period in their life, to let it just become a memory? I came home from work today, walked into Emily's room, and boom... there it was, change. Pictures taken off the wall, shelf down, little table gone. I thought of two years ago when Emily and I decorated the room together. And I thought of how everything that's become so familiar the last two years would soon be gone. Yesterday Emily asked if I was as sad when Mandy moved away. I told her I didn't remember; it seemed so long ago. I'm sure I was but maybe in a different way. When Mandy left I knew I wasn't finished being a parent, not that a parent is ever "finished"... but maybe now I'm just less..."needed"? I don't know. Maybe I need to remember it's ok to feel this way. I think it's called the "empty nest syndrome" or something like that. Maybe all I have to do is remember it's normal and do like the picture above says...let go, trust, and love. Maybe.