The other day I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time when we crossed paths in the parking lot of our local big box store. I remembered that she had just dropped her second child (her daughter) off at college for her freshman year, officially joining the Empty Nester Club. In asking her how everything went, I wasn’t surprised to hear that on the long drive home she had both happy moments and tearful moments. That’s pretty typical. Overall though, she’s fine. I was glad to hear it. She told me that her daughter mentioned that her friends were asking if she (my friend) was “going…
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Something Wonderful
Something wonderful is happening around here. (Indulge me while I brag for a moment. Thank you.) Although it seems like yesterday that we were in the midst of his college search, D is finishing his coursework a semester early. He’ll be done with classes in less than a month! It’s a pretty spectacular accomplishment: he achieved it via a combination of some AP testing for college credit, testing into (and then passing) an advanced German course which earned him the credit for that class plus the year he skipped, and mostly due to his staying the course with his major and getting awesome grades (Dean’s List all the way!). Did…
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Life Rule #1073: You Can’t Choose Your Own Nickname.
As J got settled in at school, he began talking more and more about the new friends he was making. He gets along very well with both of his roommates–what a relief!–as well as the three guys across the hall and so many others both on his floor and in his classes. A few weeks into the semester we started hearing about various nicknames they were bestowing on each other, and J was hoping he’d get a good one. In discussing the topic with Jim and me, the three of us agreed that “T-bone” would be a great nickname. If you’re a “Seinfeld” fan, you get it. We said, “Yeah!…
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College Drop Off: We Went, We Moved Him In, I Got The T-Shirt.
Two, actually. I bought two t-shirts, because I couldn’t decide between the short-sleeved hot pink shirt and the long-sleeved orange and blue shirt–school colors–so I went home with both. So, the deed is done. We dropped our younger son off at college and I didn’t die. I can tell you what leaving felt like, though. It felt like having a full-body bandage pulled off, with that last little sticky part that always stings the most being positioned right over my heart. But again, I didn’t die. Jim didn’t either. We were sort of thrown for the rest of the day, but we’re going to be absolutely just fine. Also, there…
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Going For The Record
Today is the day we move D back into the dorm for another year at college. Don’t you feel OLD? He’s a junior this year! (I know. Crazy.) Last year’s drop off was surprisingly short: less than 45 minutes. Jim and I acted like we were mildly offended (but really weren’t) when D asked us to refrain from helping him set his room up; he just wanted drop-off service. We were shocked at how quickly we were back home. This year? We’re going for the record. Jim and I both have things to do when we get home and so we figured maybe we’d be able to shave ten minutes…
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Spring break
D is home from college this week because it’s his spring break week. (J’s high school spring break is next week. It’s a good thing we weren’t making big vacation plans!) The funny thing about a* college kid coming home for spring break is that he thinks everybody is on spring break. At 11:00, as Jim and I head up to bed for a 5:30 a.m. wake-up: “Why are you going to bed? It’s spring break!” In the morning, noticing his brother isn’t at home: “Where’s J?” I answer, “He’s at school.” D: “But it’s spring break!” When I ask him how it’s possible he could sleep until 1:00 p.m.…
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When The Few Ruin It For The Masses
When D left for college for the first time in September 2010, we were wide-eyed parents, navigating the parent end of secondary education in the best way we could. Like anything, there were little surprises here and there (nothing we couldn’t handle: don’t worry, all of you with younger kids!). One of those little surprises was the occasional appearance on our monthly college invoice of small charges: $1.50 here, $1.10 there…I had no idea what was going on. Was it a charge to fix the cable? Did they charge us to change a lightbulb in the dorm? No clue. Rightfully wanting to know what we were paying for, I made…