Joanna Gaines is experiencing the bittersweet emotions every parent feels when their children leave the nest. The former HGTV star shared highlights of the family’s last dinner before two of her kids left for college and also took a moment to reflect on how quickly time passes.
Joanna Gaines’ Kids Head to College
On August 9, Gaines took to Instagram to share the last meal the whole family would have together for a while.
“Gulp. Last dinner together before our oldest heads back to college and our second is about to leave home for her freshman year,” she wrote in the caption.
The Magnolia empire owner continued, “Thankful for the group hug and all the puppies to help me work through my wide range of emotions. And also Crew’s motor bike, it made me feel like a kid again.”
She added, “I love you kids so much 🩵.”
The family cooked pizza in their outdoor oven and gathered around the table together. They shared a sweet hug and Gaines raced around the yard on the little bike.
Fans weighed in on this new season of life for Gaines and her husband Chip, with one noting, “I call it, ‘bittersweet miserable joy.'”
They explained, “All we want our children to do is to have the confidence and capability of standing on their own 2 feet as an incredible young adult, but when they do, man, does it hurt your mama heart!”
Joanna Gaines Gets Emotional About This Season of Life
On August 10, Gaines shared a photo of her son’s college stuff packed and ready to go.
“They told me it would go by quicker than I think. That the days are slow but the years are fast,” she wrote in the Instagram post’s caption. “And darn it if they were right. This beautiful gift of time has roared past us all just like I was told.”
Gaines continued, “My oldest son left for his third year of college while my oldest daughter packs for her first year across the country.”
The “Magnolia Table: At the Farm” star explained how she was feeling amid all of these changes.
“This season already feels like one big, breathless surrender. Lord, how do I hold them close while also letting go? Help me to embrace change with a heart filled with hope for the part I know to be truer than the rest — my kids and I may have been made for each other, but I also believe they were made for more,” she wrote. “More experiences, more knowledge, more growing than could ever happen within our walls.”
She added, “To all the parents packing up and moving kids to new places, and to all those with years still to spare: hold them close, hold them well, and let’s all lean on each other when the time comes to hold it together.”
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Joanna Gaines Shares Emotional Message as Her Kids Leave for College