Sean Kirst: From kindergarten to college, an oldest kid, a farewell, the aching glory of late summer

Sean Kirst: From kindergarten to college, an oldest kid, a farewell, the aching glory of late summer

Thirteen years ago this week, for our family, represented one of those quiet, things-are-never-exactly-the-same milestones in life. Our youngest child, at 18, had just started his first week of college. Any parent of my vintage knows the feeling during that first little while when your last kid is gone, and you step back into the quiet of the house, and the morning comes without those footsteps on the stairs. I absolutely loved the rituals of be…