Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[JeannieNM]

Last but not least the closet area. Sorry this is kinda messy, a hook fell down and I did not get to take photos of when things were 100%, but you get the idea. My DH, joked that DD could wear an outfit and then send it home that day and still not run out of clothes.

 

[Gina]

I'm SO glad to hear y'alls kids are doing great so far!! And glad we parents are all still hanging in there, lol. It has taken me nearly a week, but I'm at least to the point of not feeling like I'm going to burst into tears at any given moment. And the BF and I got everything sorted.. We are both too hard-headed for our own good, and we both suck at communication and assumed mind-reading skills. We've vowed to actively work on that.

My son has been texting me and talking to me on the phone a couple of times, and that has made it a lot easier to still feel connected to him. He has just been settling in and having fun, and his classes start Monday. And thankfully, he hasn't fallen out of bed yet, lol. We're going to see him on Sunday so I can bring him a couple things we forgot, and bring back a couple things that are just taking up space.

Big hugs to everyone... Thanks for sharing everything so far, and keep sharing! I love hearing it!

 

[Bluestars]

I like seeing all of the dorm pictures. I wish I had remembered to take some when I dropped off my son.

He has has been in a freshman orientation week / hell week since last Wednesday. It ends on Friday. He's in the Corps of Cadets. He has called us a few times and texted us too. The first time I talked to him, he sounded so beaten down. Now he sounds much better. He said that now it's clear to him why he had to go through what they put him through.

The Corps has some Facebook pages, so I have been able to see a few pictures of him. They had a huge water fight today, so maybe it's all easy from here until Friday. We will fly out on Friday to take him to dinner and then watch him march on the field on Saturday. He starts classes on Monday and said that he is ready.

 

[sk!mom]

I have a feeling it's going to hit me again hard in a week or two as the realization sets in that she isn't just at camp.

OMG, this exact thing hit me tonight! "This is permanent...not camp...she'll never live at home the same way again." I'm having a teary evening. I texted DD and we had a nice talk. She's happy but dang I miss her and I had been doing so well. DH pointed out that maybe I should have skipped watching the So You Think You Can Dance final four- a show that she and I always watched together.

Oh well, ups and downs, for sure.

ETA- I'm so jealous of those whose kids are near enough to just drive over for dinner. DD is 4 hours away.

 

[elgerber]

OMG, this exact thing hit me tonight! "This is permanent...not camp...she'll never live at home the same way again." I'm having a teary evening. I texted DD and we had a nice talk. She's happy but dang I miss her and I had been doing so well. DH pointed out that maybe I should have skipped watching the So You Think You Can Dance final four- a show that she and I always watched together.

Oh well, ups and downs, for sure.

ETA- I'm so jealous of those whose kids are near enough to just drive over for dinner. DD is 4 hours away.

I hear ya!!! Every word. I did finally watch one of our shows, alone last night. I did ok. I get teary now and then still, but I still think I'm going to get hit hard again.
Mine is not close enough for dinner either, she is 3 hours away.

I do have to share this though. I texted her to tell her I watched Graceland. She replied later, saying she still needs to do that. And Guess where we went?
I ask Where???
To which my sports hating, incredibly uncoordinated daughter replies...
Fencing club! I almost fell over from shock! They thought it looked fun, so they went. And they liked it and plan to go back! Crazy!!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'd hoped my son was going to come home for this 3 day weekend. His last class is over at noon on friday and he could drive back Monday afternoon since he's only 4 hours away.

But he texted me and said he's not coming home.

Now we won't see him until Thanksgiving week probably unless he chooses to come on the weekend of his birthday which I doubt since it would be a quick weekend.

 

[IDoDis]

Last but not least the closet area. Sorry this is kinda messy, a hook fell down and I did not get to take photos of when things were 100%, but you get the idea. My DH, joked that DD could wear an outfit and then send it home that day and still not run out of clothes.

I see she brought her NM mug with her!

 

[IDoDis]

Why am I having so much trouble with the pictures? I have them hosted on Flickr, they are public, and I am using the little insert picture icon for each one. Can you all see them if you click them? How can I fix it so they show correctly in hte body of the post?

I couldn't see them on my ipad, but I can see them on my laptop. The room looks really spacious and she has a great view from her window. DD's view is the brick wall of the dining hall. Great room, but terrible view! Oh and BTW, I love your quilting photos!

I haven't heard much from DD this week other than a text saying that her overage refund from her scholarship was processed and should be in her bank account in a few days. I also stalked her Twitter and saw that she tweeted that even with all of the work she has to do, college is 1000 times better than high school. Hey Mikey, she likes it!

She said she won't be home this weekend and is instead going to Santa Fe for the fiestas and the burning of Zozobra which is a huge "old man gloom" that gets burned in a gigantic bon fire. With his burning, observers burn their troubles away. Really it's a huge deal out here annually that brings lots of riff-raff along with it, so I worry a bit about them being safe on the roads. I think she forgot that Tuesday is her dad's birthday which means we will be celebrating it on Monday since it's a holiday and we are all off. So, I should at least see her on Monday.

 

[disneymom2one]

I hear ya!!! Every word. I did finally watch one of our shows, alone last night. I did ok. I get teary now and then still, but I still think I'm going to get hit hard again.
Mine is not close enough for dinner either, she is 3 hours away.

I do have to share this though. I texted her to tell her I watched Graceland. She replied later, saying she still needs to do that. And Guess where we went?
I ask Where???
To which my sports hating, incredibly uncoordinated daughter replies...
Fencing club! I almost fell over from shock! They thought it looked fun, so they went. And they liked it and plan to go back! Crazy!!!

Okay mine's doing fencing club too - and she loves it. She's never done any sport other than Upward Soccer ...

 

[Mom21]

My baby moved in last Wed. He dad took her up as he trailered her car. I went up Thursday evening and Fri morning. She's struggling a bit. She hates it there and already has plans to transfer, but I'm sure it will change once she settles in. She calls and texts me all day when she's not in class. She had issues with getting the right classes, and she has had to change a lot, but we think she is set now. For the first week she lived off peanut butter and bread she bought at Target. She has the meal plan, but didn't want to enter the cafeteria by herself.

Anyway, she finally ate there last night by herself. She had used it several times at a Chilis and a Subway as she had flex dollars. She isn't coming home as I am 8 hours away. Next Tuesday, I move to only 4 hours away. Instead she is meeting her boyfriend and his mom at Disney. I'm very nervous. She's never driven more than 30 minutes and it's around home. I'm scared of Orlando traffic for her on a Friday night holiday weekend. Even though she is only 17, I don't feel right telling her she can't. She is out on her own now, and she doesn't even have to tell me if she doesn't want to. So hard watching them grow up, but still struggle and need mommy.

 

[sk!mom]

My baby moved in last Wed. He dad took her up as he trailered her car. I went up Thursday evening and Fri morning. She's struggling a bit. She hates it there and already has plans to transfer, but I'm sure it will change once she settles in. She calls and texts me all day when she's not in class. She had issues with getting the right classes, and she has had to change a lot, but we think she is set now. For the first week she lived off peanut butter and bread she bought at Target. She has the meal plan, but didn't want to enter the cafeteria by herself.

Anyway, she finally ate there last night by herself. She had used it several times at a Chilis and a Subway as she had flex dollars. She isn't coming home as I am 8 hours away. Next Tuesday, I move to only 4 hours away. Instead she is meeting her boyfriend and his mom at Disney. I'm very nervous. She's never driven more than 30 minutes and it's around home. I'm scared of Orlando traffic for her on a Friday night holiday weekend. Even though she is only 17, I don't feel right telling her she can't. She is out on her own now, and she doesn't even have to tell me if she doesn't want to. So hard watching them grow up, but still struggle and need mommy.

I'm so sorry that your DD is struggling. That would make it so much harder. Does she not know anyone there?

My DD has one high school friend at the same college and they seem to be hanging out and then her school did a really great job with "getting acquainted" activities. She had an awesome Freshman orientation leader from earlier in the Summer who stayed connected to his groups and planned a huge reunion get together the first Monday on campus. Her first week was nothing but picnics, barbecues, free concerts, etc... I know some of the non-joiners among my friend's children are struggling though. My older child was one of those so I do understand the struggles and homesickness. I'm thankful that my baby is much more independent. to you and your DD.

I was torn about DD getting a job but she was really determined. I have to say that it's something else that has probably helped her settle in. Going to a ballet studio at 4 pm has been her life since age 7 so it has added familiarity. She's only working 3 hours a day, Monday-Thursday, so I don't think it will be too much. She texted last night, "one week done and I can't believe they're paying me for this!"

I was hoping she would decide to come home this weekend but she's having a blast and I don't want to be needy so I didn't suggest it. We will see her on the 19th for Family Weekend.

Anyone else experiencing the weird feeling of having your kid text, "We" went here or did this," and you realize that for the first time in their life you have no idea who "we" is?

I also hear you on not feeling like you should tell them not to do something. My DD is driving into the Metroplex next week to go to a concert. She views this as one of the opportunities she's now afforded since she chose a metro school. I'm letting go. I realize if I'm interfering she just won't tell me things.

Have a good weekend moms and enjoy your kids if you get to see them.

 

[elgerber]

Have a good weekend moms and enjoy your kids if you get to see them.

I'm so jealous of all of you that do! I have to wait 4 more weeks...

 

[scrapquitler]

We went an picked up my daughter for lunch today and stopped home so she could grab a few things she wanted from her room.

The big "I need" she had was that she needed a pool noodle. She says the bed doesn't fit right up against the wall and she keeps loosing the charger cable for her phone when it falls down between the bed and the wall, so she's going to put the pool noodle in that space to prevent it from happening. She also wanted the two beta tanks from the garage, she and her roommate are planning to get some fish for their room this weekend.

She has joined a couple of clubs: math club because her calculus professor will give them some extra credit for participating in that, and the drama club. She also signed up to help build the sets for the musical production of Godspell in October, and she found out that she will get 1 credit for doing that as long as she puts in 25 hours. She is also starting to consider applying to be an RA next year.

All in all, she is very happy where she is, she loves her roommate, she made a lot of friends and she likes her classes. She's feeling bad because a couple of her friends from high school have already talked to her about being very unhappy at the school that they are at. She told me that even though she was unhappy with the option of this particular program at this school, that maybe (just maybe) I was right about it being a good place for her to be...and nothing warms my heart more than her telling me that after all the drama and struggles we had with her over this during her senior year.

 

[njmom47]

Went and picked up ds yesterday so he could bring his car back to school when he goes back on Monday. In the meantime, dh wanted to get a few things fixed on the car, so instead of dropping it off Wed night like I wanted to, we took it Thursday night. Now we're not sure if it'll be done today because the shop was swamped yesterday. I guess we'll just wait and see.
On the way home, I did ask ds a few questions and he did reply as well as telling me a whole lot of other things....stories about how he and his new "crew" already have nicknames for each other, his professors, baseball, the RA, class projects, the food, etc. I guess the old adage "talk to your kids while you're driving so they don't have to look you in the eyes and you'll get more out of them" still works in this situation.
It seems he has adjusted pretty well and I am thankful for that.

 

[JeannieNM]

I see she brought her NM mug with her!

She did take her NM mug. It is too tall for her coffee pot but she uses it to drink water from. Hope your DD had fun a Zozobra, I had a bunch friends there. One year I am going to get it together and go. Have you ever been?

I hope all of you who are visiting with your kids this weekend, are enjoying yourselves.

DD is settling in. A few ups and downs but that is DD's personality. One day she is over extended (18 credit hours, and 10 classes), the next she wants to join some clubs because she has free time. She is enjoying the beach today with her roommate and two other girls. So nice that the beach is 10 minutes from the dorm.

I am doing ok, I have been a bit out of sorts. I have decided I just want to be a fly on the wall, and see everything, but I don't want to be involved. I want her to continue to grow her independence. I don't remember who posted - it is hard not knowing who we is. I know what you mean, I feel the same way.

I do not know yet if I will see DD before Thanksgiving, her school's family weekend is not until Feb. I have not decided if I will go out to California or if she will want to fly home for a weekend, she has one 3 day weekend in October which maybe an option. Time will tell.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

 

[madge]

After a month of getting youngest DD started in 7th grade, middle school PTO volunteering, DH working 4 hours from home ... August 16 came & we moved our DS into his residential college. (Don't call them a dorm ... they won't acknowledge it. LOL) room is small & concrete. Roommate plays in the school's marching band & DS says he's fine. I think they peacefully coexist, although that's made easier by the fact that DS intentionally gets out of the room ... sitting around in a small room isn't appealing to him. He's made friends, been involved with the honors college, and plans on going through fraternity rush next week. I get texts throughout the day, some days, and nothing other days. Nothing new there.

DS came home this weekend, only because everyone else he hangs out with went home. I would have been fine either way - we will see him later this month at family weekend & next month is fall break.

I had a rough transition after move in weekend. In less than a year, I went from having 5 at home to 2. DH works away during the week, oldest DS moved out, middle DS went I school, leaving me and DD 12 on our own. I am still working through that

Glad to see nearly everyone has had smooth transitions. Congrats on making it this far!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My son texted me this evening. He no longer has a room mate. The room mate moved to a dorm closer to the main campus.

My son's dorm is the furthest away and is the oldest dorm area on the campus so I'm not surprised. He said the internet is horrible. And since he's a PC Gamer, he's not real thrilled with that. I am though - less gaming means more doing homework.

It's a 15 to 20 minute walk to the main area of campus where the dining halls/store/classes are. He also said the other room that shares the bathroom with his room also had one of the boys switch dorms so there is only one boy in there too.

He doesn't know if he'll be getting another room mate this semester or not. But he said he's liking not having to follow a bathroom schedule every day which is what they had set up to handle having 4 boys using the same bathroom. LOL

I thought my son would put in for a dorm transfer but he said he doesn't want to move all of his stuff again. (translation: He's too lazy to move.)

I asked if he could text me dorm room pics so hopefully he'll do that. I know he has the bare bones of stuff with him so they'll look pretty empty compared to many of the other posters.
He didn't want to have much to haul around and he didn't know what his room mate would be bringing.

He said he will be busy this weekend - he's got 2 essays to write, a bunch of reading to do and he needs to make a Walmart run.
He said it's weird not having someone else do that type of stuff. I told him "Welcome to adulthood."

 

[Bluestars]

It sounds like all of the kids are settling in, some having an easier transition than others.

My son just went through 10 days of a cadet hell week. We visited him this weekend. It was the worst 10 days of his life.

I am sure the next few weeks will be much better and he will be happy again. What a difficult way for these boys to start off the year. I cried for the first time since he left. I was able to keep from crying all of this time because I was so happy that he would have wonderful experiences, but that hasn't been the case yet. I am sure it will get better because nothing will be worse than those 10 days.

We will be visiting him again in 6 weeks and I hope that I see my old son back.

 

[ardent2]

I am not a parent, but I thought I'd chime in anyways... What it seems to me is that college has become way, way too expensive. It's terrible for students to graduate with 20k in debt on average and spend 10 years paying it off. This generation has actually not improved economically than their parents, that's how bad it is.

So my advice for going to college is try to minimize costs as much as possible. Student debt is bad to have.

Anyway, sorry to rain on the parade, college can also be awesome and a lot of fun!

 

[sk!mom]

It sounds like all of the kids are settling in, some having an easier transition than others. My son just went through 10 days of a cadet hell week. We visited him this weekend. It was the worst 10 days of his life. I am sure the next few weeks will be much better and he will be happy again. What a difficult way for these boys to start off the year. I cried for the first time since he left. I was able to keep from crying all of this time because I was so happy that he would have wonderful experiences, but that hasn't been the case yet. I am sure it will get better because nothing will be worse than those 10 days. We will be visiting him again in 6 weeks and I hope that I see my old son back.

I'm sorry it's been so rough for your son! Two of my friends and many acquaintances have kids at A&M since I'm in Texas but I only know one who's son is in the Corps so I don't know much about that experience. One friend posted pics this morning of the weekends first formation and I thought of your son. Why did he want to join the Corps? Is he thinking military after college.

A&M is a unique school and experience. Hopefully he will begin to experience the better parts now.