Yeah, a bit of a corny title. And let’s be honest, we’re not living life as intended unless we have hundreds of days that can be described this way.

But I don’t know how else to describe this past Wednesday in particular. Especially given the range of emotions leading up to the day, the day itself, and waking up the morning after and writing this column that evening.

So why this day, you ask? If you’ll indulge me, I’ll tell you a little story. It involves two great young ladies, and my privilege of having the best job in the world, being their father. A job which came with equal shares of anxiety and pride, and many of those best and worst days.

And two of those best/worst days for both Evin and Maya came from the same event: The day they moved to the other side of the mountain to go to college. This one had so much more emotion with Maya, however, because there are no more move-in college days for this dad as he types away in his recliner in his now empty nest.

Which recalls a couple of emotional memories. You see, if I’m being honest, my house has been an empty nest every other week for over a dozen years, because that was the girls’ schedule after my divorce. You see, even after Evin moved to Denver, I still had Maya every other week to soften the blow of losing my firstborn to seek her way in the world. Parents with more than one child know what I mean.

So, while Evin was making her way – and it wasn’t easy, because she graduated in the infamous government-overreaching, Covid-obsessed year of 2020 – I still could lose myself in my work, fighting the overreaching government mandates while still being daddy to Maya every other week. I must admit, the distractions helped in my worry about my firstborn going out into the world. More irony on my feelings about what kind of world Evin was going into in 2020, considering we found out we were pregnant on Sept. 10, 2001.

Needless to say, between Sept. 11 and Covid, my oldest is a woman for her time. God has her right where he wants her. And she is flourishing. Dad couldn’t be prouder.

Only one thing compares, and that’s Maya’s new adventure. But that comes about in an entirely different way and with entirely different emotions.

Few things in my life compared to the anxiety I had in the weeks leading up to moving Maya to Greeley to begin her college career. I don’t know why, and I don’t know what it was. But reflecting now, in this short term (literally one day after the move-in), I’m beginning to think the emotions were more about me than Maya. After all, Maya has 10,000 new friend opportunities, and I’m stuck here alone with the cat my daughters picked out for me. And Maya isn’t coming back every other week to keep me company.

Let’s also not overlook the fact that I’m losing the main role I’ve had for the last 13 years. Yes, it’s how I look at it, even as I’ve been told it’s not the healthiest way to look at it, but I’m no longer Evin and Maya’s dad. YES, I know I’m still their dad, but I’m no longer daddy who’s always there, always doing, always looking in on them to make sure they’re OK. I’m just the dad they’ll call now and then, so they can fill me in on what they’ve been doing, of which I have no idea of what they’ve been up to. And as of Day 1 post-Maya, that part sucks even more.

Worse, I have to be OK with that. Oddly, I think I’m showing signs of it. I’ll admit even after being exhausted after the drive home from Greeley on Wednesday night after driving over on Tuesday and all the move-in emotions of the day, I had trouble falling asleep. But once I did, I slept hard. And when I woke up, I felt a sense of relief and calm. I’m sure part of it was all the prayer. I’m sure the other part is a new mindset for your favorite publisher – a crazy mindset that perhaps a few of my readers have. But if a few of you can have that mindset, why can’t I come to grips that I’ve done a good job as a single dad?

And I think that might be the point I’m heading to. I raised two wonderful young ladies who had the courage to move away and go off to college, to find their place in the world. And that’s a mindset the old Craig could have never had just 25 years ago. Heck, I never thought of even having kids in those days. And now I have two daughters I couldn’t be prouder of.

So yes, I’m not gonna hear much from Maya these first few weeks. She needs the space to find her way, see where she fits at the University of Northern Colorado. I don’t like it, but it is what it is. And just like it was for Evin, Maya will get to do that without someone saying, “Oh, Craig Hall’s your dad?”

The role I’m now happy not to play.

In Truth and freedom.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of The Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com