I'm so happy he is sharing so much!!!! And it is always such a relief to hear how well they are doing. That makes it so much easier.
It is so great to hear about the boys opening up. It gives me hope when my son goes away. It helps so much just to hear them say it is going well.
And hearing about the experience some of you are having with your daughters will make me more ready in 6 years when my daughter heads out.
My son left around 1 this afternoon and is safely back at school already. I really could not have asked for a better weekend. We ate out some, I made a couple things I know he likes, he played some video games with his friends, shot some baskets with other friends.... and saved time to watch a Bond movie with dear old mom.
And when it was all over, he gave me a hug and headed out with no angst. (At least none that he let us see). It's like I've been holding my breath for 3 weeks and was finally able to let it out. I feel so much better.
The friend traded cars with his dad, so they didn't even have mechanical issues to worry about on their way back.
Well, we had a great day. I spent a GREAT hour with DS today, he shared his favorite music play list with me. It was great to just chill out with him and listen to his music. we did a lot of errands, last minute stuff. Had a Great dinner that he loved, watched a funny movie with his favorite taco salad and shared with DH and DD the pics from our trip to Anaheim for FBLA. Was great.
2 things had me cry today. First, when DS and I were listening to music the song "hallelujah" was on his list. Cried. couldn't help myself. I tried.
Second, DD wrote a card to her big brother and she shared it with me. It was so sweet and funny. She was tearing up a bit as well. Interesting how then my focus shifted to helping her though this transition and the tears stopped as I tried to comfort her.
Oh, I think DD and I will be basket cases tomorrow.
AND to top it off... All summer long, barely any rain... tomorrow for drop off??? Rain and thunderstorms... seriously????
It sounds like you had an amazing last day. One you'll remember for a long time to come. I'm glad you made some great memories.
DH and I went to visit DD today and spent seven wonderful hours with her! It was just so great to see her in person and see how well she really is doing.
She talked, and talked, and talked, but that is pretty normal for her.
When we got back from dinner, there was a cookie sheet and box of cookie mix sitting outside her door. On her white board, some friends wrote, "Now you can make us cookies!" I guess she told a couple guys that she could make them cookies if they buy all the stuff and they did! When we left tonight, the guys were waiting in the lounge for her and her roommate to bake for them. I think I need to have a chat with DD about the difference between the 1950's and 2013!
She has joined multiple clubs, is playing an intramural sport, and she is hanging out with a lot of people just having fun. They love going to the rec room where they play board games, ping pong, and pool.
She doesn't love her classes, but she knew this semester would have a few classes that she just needed to plow through. The rest of the semesters should be better. Four of her five classes require large group projects so she is hoping she is put with motivated students instead of slackers.
It really does help me to know she is loving it. I think I would need to be medicated if I thought she hated it. It was a great visit and I wish I could see her every weekend!!
I'm so glad you had a great day with your DD! Did she talk any more about the roommate situation? I hope it's all going great. It sure sounds like she's really putting herself out there to meet new friends and get involved. And that will make all the difference in the world.
FOUR classes with large group projects? Yuck. My older son is a Junior and just starting his first group project.
My son actually seems to like a couple classes. I don't think he's liked a school class........ ever.
At least not that he has admitted. But he is disliking his Calc II class. He has his first test in there Thursday, so I'll have my fingers and toes crossed on that one. He really just dislikes the teacher.
Like you, I sure wish we could do this every weekend. But since we survived the first few weeks, I guess we can survive a few more.
DD19 is a sophomore this year, at a school about a 14 hour drive away. Last year we all (me, big sis, and dad but not step-mom) went down and helped her move in. She had a wonderful year so this year she was headed back by herself.
The plan was to drive the first four hours, spend the night with her sister, then make the big drive. Did I mention I had a seminar on the West Coast and she was driving down I95 to Florida? So she calls and tells me the "Safely Stop Car Now" light has come on and she is losing power so I guide her to the shoulder. Long story short but thanks to
AAA and a friend from camp she got safely off the road, towed to a dealership, into a hotel, then back out of the hotel and to a friend's lake house, friend's dad arranged for her to have a rental car even though she is underage and no traditional agency would rent to her - and she made it to school about 7pm tonight.
I am home now too and the plan is to have the car repaired on Tuesday (holiday weekend, of course) and then she will drive back the five or six hours to return her rental, get her car, then turn around and drive back to school. I hope she will either take a friend to help with the driving or be willing to spend the night along the way before she drives back to school, but that will be determined later.
This has been nerve-wracking but also a great learning experience and she sees the importance of listening to me. when I say it is critical to have insurance, registration and AAA information at all times, as well as a charged phone and a backup plan.
Oh my! And I thought it was scary that my son's friend's car overheated. At least they were back on their way fairly quickly and had 2 of them there to deal with it.
You really should be proud of how she handled the situation. And I bet you all will worry less knowing that she can handle things like that when they come up!
Well, I am actually going to drive down today to my son's college. He called me and said "yeah, I think I'd really like my X-Box and I don't have enough towels and I'd sure like a few more pairs of shorts."
So, since I have a 3-day weekend and the school is just under 2 hours away, it's doable. My friend and are going to drive down this morning, get there about lunch time, take him to lunch, grocery store, etc. I will then get to take a look at him to see if I think he needs to see a doctor (I posted earlier this week on a separate thread that he has been having a nighttime cough) or if I think he can just hang on for a bit. I probably won't stay more than 3 hours.
I am sort of liking this shorter distance away. My DD's campus is 4 hours away and it's just a bit far for a day trip, although that's what I do if I need to go there.
YEAH! I'm so glad you got an impromptu visit! I hope you had a nice visit and found he was recovering from his illness.
Good luck making it through move-in, Princess Vija! If your other child is going with you, tell your child that continuous talking is a must! The chatterbox that is my younger daughter helped so much 4 years ago when we dropped off my eldest.
It has now been over 2 weeks since my youngest left for college and my eldest left for Graduate School and her new life with her fiance. Both girls came home for Labor Day holiday, so I am very happy!
I agree with the benefit of having a chatterbox sibling along if possible! Sometimes it can sure fill an awkward moment.
So glad you got to have your girls back for the long weekend!
I am so glad I stumbled in to the thread! So much of what all of you are feeling is the same for me. I get cranky for no good reason.
I totally get the "feeling cranky" for no reason thing. A couple times leading up to the day we were leaving my husband would ask what was wrong with me. Really? DUH.
Well..... I did it, but not very well!
The morning was very hard. I tried to be brave, but was teary eyed at times. For each year 1st day of school we have 2 traditions. One is that we take a picture with them holding a sign, the school year they are starting and the date. For DS we had him in front of the packed car with his sign now reading... leaving for college.
We got up there and got unpacked into the parking lot and sure enough I kept an eye on the weather and rain was coming, deceiving because it went from sunny to rain in minutes... DH went to go find a parking spot, DS is registering for his room, and DD and I are stuck in the parking lot guarding his stuff. I see an overhang and decide to move everything. Thank heavens I did because shortly after we finished moving the stuff the rains let loose, thunder, lightning and sideways rain! There were people scrambling from the parking lot just trying to save electronics and lots of frantic dads yelling at their kids. Not a fun way to do drop off.
soon we got the stuff up to his room and pretty much he was kicking us out then. He had already forewarned me earlier in the day that he would do that so I wasn't caught unprepared, but poor DH was. I did tell him at home that DS was going to tell us that, but he thought I was joking.
The second tradition we have is that we share freshly baked cookies and talk about the first day when they get home from school. So I baked his favorite cookies secretly on Friday and then gave them to him with a "go and make your future" card. and then off we went.
I held it together till about 30 min from school and that was it...
Then again late at night, I just couldn't take it anymore...
Today I am doing a little better. Turns out DD and DH cried at some point as well, but each tried to hide it from me... probably worried i'd go off the deep end.
Now I have 2 1/2 weeks until I see him again for their family weekend. I won't bug him, I'll give him his space and hope he texts me sometime this week. The first night of family weekend it will be only me and DS and then on Saturday DD and DH will be there too. I am looking forward to spending that time with DS.
Thanks everyone for all the comfort we have given each other as we navigated this painful process together. I am looking forward to hearing how all the college kids are doing and how we are reconnecting with them in a few weeks and over the spring/winter breaks!
Well, as luck would have it, you didn't have to do it well. You just had to do it. And you did
Your sign in front of the car photos sounds like a real keeper for the scrapbook. But it would have made me cry too. You'll be glad later that you have it though.
The cookies and card?
OMG, you really got me with that one.
Hang in there. I'm 3 weeks out and in such a better place than I was. I'm so proud of the way my son has adapted. He's not big on change, so this was a pretty big deal for him. Soon enough you will start hearing things from your son to be proud of, and that will make it all worthwhile.
Just dropped dd off for her sophomore year...much easier this time around!!
It's posts like this that get me through.
Thanks for posting!
You did it! And he was ready, or he wouldn't have sent you away so quickly! Hang in there!
DS left about 4 hours ago, drove himself back to school. Its only 2 hours, so he's already back and settling back in. It was great having him here. I learned SOOOO much, since he'd given very few details in texts. He truly sounds like he's fine. He does want to make more friends, but I KNOW he will.
What are the "dining options" like for your kids? When I went to school there were a cafeterias and a deli. We were given credits for 3 meals a day, and they could be used at any of the cafeterias or at the deli. It was easy. At his University you basically just put $ on a dining card and they are charged by what they eat. Its all restaurants, no cafeterias. There is a Chick-Fil-A, Johnny Rockets, etc. He has a Which Wich in his dorm, so he eats a sandwich most dinners. Its costing him $7.50 for just the sandwich, no chips or drink. He's worried about spending too much! I explained that we bought the minimum meal plan, because many parents said their kids didn't use it all, and if you don't use it, you cannot carry it over to next semester. I explained that we intended to put more on the card, but I'm not sure its going to make him feel more comfortable about spending the money. He told me he wished it was just regular cafeterias. Me too!
He plans to come home in another 3 weeks. His Grandparents will be here visiting and its Homecoming. He will get to watch his brother and friends march in the band.
Hang in there!
I'm so glad you had a nice visit. I was really torn about my son coming home only 3 weeks into the year. I was nervous that it might set us back again. But it went great here too. And now I have confidence that we'll all be just fine. Well, I knew that already but it sure helps to see it for myself.
My son is sort of a picky eater, so the food at school was a real concern. We bought a 10 mean per week plan with additional allowance. I thought he could order pizza or eat stuff in his room the other meals. Thankfully, it turns out he is really enjoying the food. There's a huge selection and he has found lots of things he likes. So right before he came home (right before the deadline) he swapped into the 12 meals per week plan with a lesser amount of additional allowance. He doesn't eat breakfast, so really wanted a 14 meal plan, but for some strange reason it only goes up to 15 from there. But this will be fine. I'm the world's worst cook...... so he is really enjoying the food at school I think.
. We had a good long talk yesterday. He sounds good and adjusting just fine. I am so glad. He has found his way around the same town. The school has a really good bus system that picks them up and takes them all over the town for free.
He has been taking advantage of that. I worried about him starving and not have anyway to get around since he didn't take a car. I guess the kid is more self-reliant than I thought.
He is just amazes me
There were people scrambling from the parking lot just trying to save electronics and lots of frantic dads yelling at their kids. Not a fun way to do drop off.
