Parents of College Freshman who are now Sophomores... UpDate 7/28/09

For the past week, our dog has been moping around, lying/sleeping in places he never used to, always under my feet, barking at little noises he used to ignore.

He was really bad early last week, then he got a little better. But yesterday, DH left to go up to his buddy's camp for a couple of days, and DS16 worked all day today, so once I got back from church this morning, Charlie won't leave me alone!

DD's cat actually throws up almost every day the first couple of weeks that she's gone (she's home every weekend). After that, he throws up every now and then (not quite as often). He's always been that way if she was gone anywhere for very long. The vet has checked him out thoroughly and says it's his nerves. Next year, her schedule will prohibit her from coming home much. The vet says that her cat may have to be put on anxiety medication then. :rolleyes:
 
Well, HERE's a reaction I wasn't prepared for!;)

For the past week, our dog has been moping around, lying/sleeping in places he never used to, always under my feet, barking at little noises he used to ignore. All I can think is that he misses DS18! And I guess since DH and I tore apart DS's room to clean it really good, maybe Charlie thinks we "got rid" of DS18 and he's afraid we'll get rid of him, too?? He was really bad early last week, then he got a little better. But yesterday, DH left to go up to his buddy's camp for a couple of days, and DS16 worked all day today, so once I got back from church this morning, Charlie won't leave me alone! paw: And the funny thing is that DS18 and Charlie didn't have a real close relationship like some kids and their dogs, you know? Weird.

DS18 is coming home for a quick visit this coming weekend (Sept. 6-7), so we'll see if that perks Charlie up.

Anybody else's pet acting strangely since your DS/DD left for college?

Our dog is kind of dumb; I don't think she has noticed anything!:dogdance:
 
Our dog is kind of dumb; I don't think she has noticed anything!:dogdance:

I'm starting to think the same thing. My son came home for the first time this past weekend. Here I thought the dogs would go nuts over seeing him. When he came in, they breezed past him and went to his girlfriend. Go figure. :confused3 :rotfl:
 
Our 23 year old daughter has her AA. She decided to quit her job, give up her apartment and go to school full time to ger her BA in Conservation Biology. She is 400 miles away from home. We inherited her cat, Atticus who is 3. We already had a female cat Shadow age 15. It is been tramatic for Shadow having to share her house with another cat and it has been tramatic for Atticus because his Mommy (our daughter) has gone away.

I held the telephone up to Atticus this afternoon so my daughter could tell him hi. He really perked up. He only has to wait until Thanksgiving to see his Mommy.
 

I don't know if DS was apprehensive ... he didn't need to be, though. I was apprehensive for him :rotfl:

He was settled in after about 2 hours, already met new people, etc. We had nothing to worry about, LOL. In fact, he kept saying he wasn't coming home this weekend ... we thought he'd change his mind, and he didn't. He sounds good and seems to be having a good time. I do believe he's actually studying, as well ;)

We'll see how it all progresses, but week one went well.

Same here! I was VERY apprehensive about how my daughter would adjust to college and dorm life, but she has really surprised me!

My heart jumped into my throat when she called home on the second day. I answered the phone and she seemed kind of low key. She started out by saying, "Can I come home..."(I stop breathing and can hear my heart pounding:scared: )...she then continues, "I just want to pick up some more stuff for my dorm room..."(I resume breathing and my heart rate goes back to normal)- Phew!:)

She did come home yesterday, and she asked if she could bring a friend. Yes, yes!! I was thrilled she wanted to bring someone home with her. They spent the night and most of today, and we took them back to the dorm this evening.

Things have been going terrific for daughter, but I do sense a growing distance between her and her roommate (not the friend she brought home). I think she's finding that they don't have as much in common as she thought they did. Hopefully, it's minor and they'll still get along as roommates.
 
Anybody else's pet acting strangely since your DS/DD left for college?

Henry doesn't seem to notice that our daughter is gone.:confused3 He's always been pretty mellow and not overly observant.:rotfl:

However, I am finding it strange and unusually quiet around the house. It is hard adjusting to not having our daughter home. It just feels like something is not quite right, if that makes any sense. I suppose over time, I'll get used to it and it'll seem normal, but for now I still feel a bit sad.
 
Henry doesn't seem to notice that our daughter is gone.:confused3 He's always been pretty mellow and not overly observant.:rotfl:

However, I am finding it strange and unusually quiet around the house. It is hard adjusting to not having our daughter home. It just feels like something is not quite right, if that makes any sense. I suppose over time, I'll get used to it and it'll seem normal, but for now I still feel a bit sad.

I to find it a little too quiet. That will change when I go back to work tomorrow. It is a little strange to cook for only 2 again.
 
I to find it a little too quiet. That will change when I go back to work tomorrow. It is a little strange to cook for only 2 again.

Our DS16 will never admit to missing his brother, but DH and I took DS16 out to dinner on Sat. to celebrate him getting his driver's license. When we told the hostess at the restaurant that we had "3 for non-smoking", DS16 said it seemed really odd to say "3" instead of "4". I guess that's as close to an admission of missing his brother as we'll get, so I'll take it!

I was checking out our cellphone bill online last week, and I just happened to notice some text messaging between DS16 and DS18 the night before DS16 took his driver's test. So I guess my boys ARE communicating a little bit, even if it was just "do you have any tips when I take my test?".
 
Nothing like a Tropical Storm to mess with getting your 1st to college. Fay didn't cause any physical problems for us, but the rescheduling to accomodate the "what if" really threw us for a loop and cut into the day of DD/DS time we had planned.:sad1: DS is STILL crushed. We will not see DD until Christmas break , or 104 days ( counting today ) The last we saw her was 8/22. On the up side, she LOVES it...so much we do not hear from her much...but bought a video camera for the computer today...had to do something. Plus hoping to see her artwork this way as well. She hit the ground running, her classes started the 25th and she says the instructors are amazing, even loves the food! Good room mate match, BF is there...yeah, she's gone.
College should start at 22. I miss her, too much.....:sad1:
 
I think the hardest part, especially with an only, is finding the rhythm of life without her on a daily basis and the constant "drama" she seems to attract.

It is just really quiet here, I think I miss her noise the most...:(
MsA
However, I am finding it strange and unusually quiet around the house. It is hard adjusting to not having our daughter home. It just feels like something is not quite right, if that makes any sense. I suppose over time, I'll get used to it and it'll seem normal, but for now I still feel a bit sad.
I to find it a little too quiet. That will change when I go back to work tomorrow. It is a little strange to cook for only 2 again.
:hug: Even with our DD 10 at home, the rhythm is all out of wack, I totally understand what you are all saying.

MsAmerica, I had to erase the part about how you couldn't talk about it because I still find it hard to type about it.

Donac, the cooking has thrown me for a loop. DS is a huge eater and the adjustment is not going well :lmao: , last night DS stopped by and I sent him home with a huge plate of "leftovers".

I think this whole process is harder for us parents and siblings still at home. Our basic daily routines didn't change all that much but for our kids they have new schedules, lots of events to attend and so many new people to meet. They have way to much going on to be disturbed by the loss of a routine. We as parents, don't have the same distractions and thus feel the loss of their presence harder and more often.
P.S. Of course, in our case, there are other things besides just missing her. When she's not here, I have to clean the litter box for her cats (and the one who normally sleeps with her insists on getting in bed with us), and her dad has to feed her horses. (I think I know why she moved to college! ;) ) :rotfl2:
DH is not too happy about having to take over the trash duty ;) and I lost my in a pinch can you pick up your sister driver or stop at the grocery store and grab that missing item or "can you get me the _____ from the top shelf" etc....... However, groceries are staying in our fridge longer:)
Well, HERE's a reaction I wasn't prepared for!;)
For the past week, our dog has been moping around, lying/sleeping in places he never used to, always under my feet, barking at little noises he used to ignore. All I can think is that he misses DS18! And I guess since DH and I tore apart DS's room to clean it really good, maybe Charlie thinks we "got rid" of DS18 and he's afraid we'll get rid of him, too?? He was really bad early last week, then he got a little better. But yesterday, DH left to go up to his buddy's camp for a couple of days, and DS16 worked all day today, so once I got back from church this morning, Charlie won't leave me alone! paw: And the funny thing is that DS18 and Charlie didn't have a real close relationship like some kids and their dogs, you know? Weird.

DS18 is coming home for a quick visit this coming weekend (Sept. 6-7), so we'll see if that perks Charlie up.

Anybody else's pet acting strangely since your DS/DD left for college?
Oh poor Charlie. I closed the door to DS's room the night he left and unless he stops by for something, I do not open it. The cats have taken on a new habit, one is usually parked outside his closed door napping.
Nothing like a Tropical Storm to mess with getting your 1st to college. Fay didn't cause any physical problems for us, but the rescheduling to accomodate the "what if" really threw us for a loop and cut into the day of DD/DS time we had planned.:sad1: DS is STILL crushed. We will not see DD until Christmas break , or 104 days ( counting today ) The last we saw her was 8/22. On the up side, she LOVES it...so much we do not hear from her much...but bought a video camera for the computer today...had to do something. Plus hoping to see her artwork this way as well. She hit the ground running, her classes started the 25th and she says the instructors are amazing, even loves the food! Good room mate match, BF is there...yeah, she's gone.
College should start at 22. I miss her, too much.....:sad1:
Pam, I'm so glad to hear you got your DD all settled and that she is having a good time.


DS came by last night to pick up a few things. He actually stayed several hours and he and I sat and talked like we have always done. He is loving his new found freedom and seems to have taken on the responsibity with enthusiasm. His roomie is annoying him,:rolleyes: the little things....Roomie is more of a slob than DS :scared: and DS is tired of finding roomies clothes on his side of the room, the roomies underwear on his desk chair were the last straw:rotfl2: . I suggested he put the duct tape I bought to use and divide the room!
The Univ. had a "free" laundry weekend so DS came home on Friday, cleaned up his room (picked up all his dirty clothes off the floor) and hauled them back to his dorm where he then did 4 loads of laundry. :yay: He even washed his sheets:eek:

He's having a great time and we are sucking it up because we have too:)
 
we went to see DS yesterday - needed to swap cars, and bring the laptop (that was a mess :rolleyes: ) to him.

I was totally uprepared for how GOOD my son looks. College really agrees with him!

I hope he's studying and told him so about 50 times - he needs to keep his scholarship, so he can continue attending. :rotfl:

DD (6) is having a hard time understanding that DS is living somewhere else for now. I think she thought he was coming back with us, even though we explained that he wasn't.
 
DS18 came home for the weekend, and I just got back from returning him to school. I am soooooo relieved! He absolutely LOVES college life! He's a very shy, quiet kid, and I don't expect him to turn into a wild, party animal. But the whole drive home yesterday (1.5 hrs) and during a stop for lunch, he talked non-stop about everything that's been going on for the 3 weeks he's been at school. (This is the same kid who wouldn't say 2 words on ANY of our college visits.)

The college had TONS of get-acquainted activities the 1st 2 weeks of school, plus DS18 joined the marching band and he's made a lot of friends there already, too. And I think a big help is that his entire dorm is for freshmen guys (except for the RA's), so it's not like there are already buddies hanging around together and he's got to try to break into a group, you know?

And he even made the comment that college is completely different than high school, that nobody judges you, so he doesn't feel self-conscious. I asked him what he meant, and he said that in high school, if you said something stupid or did bad on a test, the whole school knew about it and you were made fun of. He said that at college, nobody cares if you screw up, they'll laugh with you, not at you. Apparently one of the "traditions" at his college is that a dorm of guys will visit one of the girls' dorms at night and serenade the girls. He said nobody in his dorm can sing on key (including him), and whoever was playing guitar was way off, but they had a blast anyway. He never would have done something like that in high school!

As for school work, he said there's a lot more reading homework than high school, but every professor passed out a class syllabus(sp?) that covers the entire semester, so it's a lot easier for him to plan his work. And he likes having little breaks during the day to get some work done before heading off to his next class.

I am so relieved! I was worried about him - he just never felt like he fit in in high school. But it seems like he finally found his niche. Whew!!

We won't see him again for another month or so, but at least I won't be quite as worried. (I'm a mom - I'll always worry about my boys!)
 
I am so relieved! I was worried about him - he just never felt like he fit in in high school. But it seems like he finally found his niche. Whew!!

I'm glad he's fitting in so well. :thumbsup2

Mine - we all had to have a talk this morning. He's already blown through our entire cell phone package of minutes (and it's a really big package to begin with) for the entire month already and we still have three weeks in the billing cycle (and both DH and I heavily rely on them for work related calls). Talking to his girlfriend. We shocked him by listing each day's total minutes. If he has that much time to talk, he needs to work. I have to wonder how much studying is getting done.

I'm disappointed to say the least. I don't want him to blow his first semester in college by not being able to self-monitor himself. :sad2:
 
I do love this thread :)

My DS came home on Friday - he called me in the morning to ask me something about laundry :cool1: and I asked what his weekend plans were. He said something about a retreat that he didn't sign up for but found out most of his friends did - which left him with nothing to do on Friday night. I mentioned he could come home, he said he wasn't going to. He'd find something to do. Around 5:00pm, he calls and says he's coming home to go to the big HS rivalry football game. After the fact, I find out he's come home to go to the game with a girl that's still in high school. :rolleyes: Had I known that, I would have told him to stay at school. He went to the football game, out with friends, was home at midnight and back on the road to his college's first home football game at 10:00am yesterday morning. We didn't get to talk too much, but things still seem good. I check his Facebook regularly, as well ... nothing out of the ordinary there, either.

I just hope he's doing his homework. ;)
 
mine was home over Labor Day weekend, mostly to see his girlfriend.
He claims to have all A's and B's in his classes - I'll believe that when I see it. :laughing:

Mostly I just miss him. NFL Opening day nachos just aren't the same without my little Vegan here to tell me how disgusting they look.
 
And he even made the comment that college is completely different than high school, that nobody judges you, so he doesn't feel self-conscious. I asked him what he meant, and he said that in high school, if you said something stupid or did bad on a test, the whole school knew about it and you were made fun of. He said that at college, nobody cares if you screw up, they'll laugh with you, not at you.

I am so relieved! I was worried about him - he just never felt like he fit in in high school. But it seems like he finally found his niche. Whew!!

Your son sounds A LOT like my daughter! She has said many of the same things about college that your son has said. My daughter never really felt like she fit in at high school either, and I worried so much about how she'd make the adjustment to college.

So far, she is thriving and loving everything about college life.:thumbsup2 I think she's made more friends in her first week at college then she ever had in high school- no, I KNOW she has! It was a big help that she applied for, and got, a room in the dorm that has a floor devoted to fine arts students.

I am so relieved that she is doing so well, and that she is demonstrating so much independence. I hope your son (and my daughter!) continue to blossom!
 
Our youngest is at college at UW-Green Bay. She told me she felt like she was grounded the first weekend. She says it feels a lot like summer camp. Her RA checks on them at least 3 times a day. I don't know if she will stick it out next year, but she is staying this year yet. UW-Green Bay, is not in the city. It is out in the country towards Door County. The college really doesn't have a college atmosphere-it has a "summer camp" environment.
I'm pretty sure she is doing fine.

I took our oldest dd-24 to Brunswick GA. She is at the academy, she wants to be a federal agaent. I cried really hard, when she took me to the airport. She actually pushed me towards security.

My 2 sons came home this weekend for my birthday. My dh acted like they threw him a lifeline. They went to a tractor pull this afternoon. I think my dh is having a harder time, than I thought.`

I think we should sell our house. It is 2 big for us and to many memories. We need a place to start over.
 
I took our oldest dd-24 to Brunswick GA. She is at the academy, she wants to be a federal agaent. I cried really hard, when she took me to the airport. She actually pushed me towards security.

I think we should sell our house. It is 2 big for us and to many memories. We need a place to start over.

First of all-:hug: I can never drop off any of my kids at an airport and NOT cry. I totally understand and my heart goes out to you.

I also understand your feelings about your house. My husband and I recently relocated to Arizona to be near all of our kids. We haven't sold our house in Maine yet, so we are in a rental home. The rental is much smaller than our other house. Even though it is just the two of us at home now (yeah, typing that makes me sad:sad2: ) we're finding that the house is too small. What we forgot was that, even though none of the kids live at home full time now, they are not gone completely!

Just last week, our older daughter, son-in-law, and brand new baby were in the area and ended up spending the night at our house, and last weekend our youngest daughter brought a friend home and the two of them spent the night here. So, my husband and I are rethinking our plans to build or buy a smaller house. I think we're going to go with a larger floor plan.:)

I also feel kind of like I'm cheating on this whole college thing. Yes, our youngest is away at college and living on campus, but we're only about a half hour drive away. I am positive it wouldn't have worked out any other way for any of us. She is gaining independence and learning to do things on her own, but she also has the comfort and security of knowing that she can call us and/or come home pretty much whenever she wants to. Of course, it works both ways, and I have that same security knowing she's close by.

Everyone has to do whatever works best for their particular situation. However, my heart goes out to all the parents and kids that are missing each other. I know that feeling.:sad2:
 












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