One year in but a newbie

[Lifes Twists]

Little bit of an update. My kids needed fuel in the jeep which I allow them to drive to school in on Wednesday. While I was there my W was hovering and downloading to me. I got the impression she is feeling very sorry for herself. I believe her vision of how things would work out are not happening. I think she had envisioned that the girls would go to school at the university where she works. They would stay at home and have one nice happy family unit without me in the picture. My oldest instead chose a school about 2 hours away and now wants to transfer to a school in NC. My middle daughter refused to apply to the local university and has applied to and been accepted to schools in SC. Both girls will be 12 to 15 hours drive away from home. My wife said to me that the girls no longer need her. Then she moaned about how she would be alone with just the puppy they got over the summer.She followed up with another moan about how she was stuck working till she is seventy to help the girls pay off their college. She even let on that she was thinking about cashing in her retirements and 401ks to help pay of the kids college debt. I treated her like she was a neighbor, told her that things would work out, that she should cash in her retirements as the penalties would be high. I told her she should be happy that the kids were having the opportunity to go to the college of their choice. I kept a positive vibe going the whole conversation and never let her drag me down.

Is it normal for the WAS to feel so sorry for themselves when things don't match their fairy tale vision about how their lives will be better after they leave?