My son is leaving home for university – and my severe denial has surprised me | Zoe Williams

My cherished first-born will soon be off to start a big new phase of his life, shiny saucepans in tow. ‘Empty nesting’ implies this is as nature intended, but it’s knocked me for six My son sent me a picture of his university accommodation, which looked perfectly nice, but there was something off about it.

It was a little bit too tidy, of course, and had the slightly dystopian atmosphere of a neutral colour palette, but the main problem was that places look weird without people in them.

That’s why architects, when they’re trying to sell a development, always add the magic ingredients: a child with a balloon, a couple pushing a buggy and a gentleman with a bicycle.

So I squinted a bit and tried to imagine my son in that room, which is when it hit me: he’s actually serious about this.

He truly intends, in one month’s time, to get all his stuff, put it in bags, take it to another city and live there.

I can neither convey nor explain my surprise, which is bottomless.

It’s not that I thought he wouldn’t get the grades; I’m not one of those harridan sceptic-parents.

I just had “I’m going to university” filed as one of those cute, dumb things kids say, along with “I’m going to space”, “I’m changing my name to Unnamed Being” and “I’m an otter now”.

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