Just before final goodbyes I asked for a selfie and she got so annoyed at how I was facing the wrong way and everyone would be looking at us. She was self conscious I guess. And I was being your typical clueless dad. Unfortunately that tainted the sweetness of the goodbye hugs and I left her feeling like I really disappointed her. Everything is so fragile. I love her and already miss her. I hope I feel better about it after a decent night's sleep.

As an adult child of a dad that centers himself and his emotions a lot I hope she left feeling like her experience and feelings took precedent over your emotional needs at that moment. Parental support flows downstream to the child, not upstream.

Our favorite is when we went to pick our daughter up from sophomore year and I made a sign for the car: “Picking our kid 🐐 up from college.” She was a little annoyed, but we still laugh about it and make goat jokes years later. She’s 31.

I said goodbye the day before, had a good cry. That made the dorm room goodbye easier.

As some who is a college student myself, a similar experience like that could be because she was upset about leaving you and didn’t want you to see her upset. Or it could have been she has friends she excited to see but either way she still loves you and it’s one small thing you will move past it very quickly!

Your thread brings back memories of saying goodbye to my daughter. She lives across the country and we get to see each other three or four times a year. Every time we say goodbye I am in tears (did I day we’ve done this since she went away to college and for over the past twenty years?) It is never easy and I am thankful that saying goodbye isn’t easy. She is and will always be my little girl.

I got a call from my freshman the day after she moved in and I was SO excited. We were chatting a bit and then I said - “I’m so happy you called to say hi!” Only to be met with “what? No you called me!” I didn’t call her, she butt dialed me - so that kind of wrecked the excitement 😂

I’m a super emotional person and so is my mum. I have deff used irritability as a shield to try and make it easier on us both but then I’ll cry in private for HOURS lol. I started doing it further into my adulthood - maybe I thought I was too old to be that emotional? Either way - I’m sure it was just nerves/ unknown/ excitement/ protective measures 🥹