<p>Yeah, Susan, it's a good rule. Figured it was perhaps my one chance until we move to get that room cleaned!</p>
<p>Older D spent many hours (days?) sorting through stuff in her room as she is a Moundbuilder too. In fact it was so bad she didn't even know were to start, so we did it together, sorting into piles (mounds?) for take to college, give away, leave home, save as souvenir.... The take to college piles grew and grew. Which reminds me of what happened when I moved D into her dorm. We shipped many cartons and took more stuff with us on the plane. As we unpacked and met kids and parents on her corridor, I peeked into the room of two guys who were a few doors down. There wasn't much stuff in the room, and just one mom inside. I said, "Oh, your son must also be waiting for his roommate to arrive, just like my D." "No," she said, both boys are here." My D had more stuff than the two boys combined!</p>
<p>I expect S to be easier - not only will he take less stuff with him than his sister did, but he couldn't care less what color his comforter is....</p>
<p>That's hilarious, wiwa, but I wish it would be less stuff for my boy.... In my S's case, there'll be some clothing, books, and strategy board games, big yawn. But the big problem is going to be the <em>equipment</em> -- computers (desktop, laptop, router, hub, you name it), stereo (turntable, audiophile speakers, <em>LP</em>s!), photography (camera, case, tripod, lenses), electronics (power tools, supplies). This stuff is his life and he refuses to leave it home. (Why couldn't he just want a comforter and a fridge? THOSE I could get on the opposite coast no problem!)</p>
<p>I'm serious, by the way: are there container services that will ship stuff like this across the continent?</p>
<p>I am ripping at the seams to get out of hs.
The only thing keeping me sane at this point is my 3 cc classes, and even then, today's topic was "LSD or not"</p>
<p>and yes, there are container services that can do such shipment</p>
<p>Since I'm going to be shipping my car I'm going to pack it with certain essentials and then just buy the rest of the stuff from the local walmart</p>
<p>since I'm buying my computer through Duke(with a 20% discount) it'll be there ready for me when I arrive</p>
<p>School is over for my son; he just goes to take his IB exams starting today and extending to May 24. He will have back surgery on a long break between one exam and another. Have to travel to Austria. Looking forward to that only because it will hopefully reduce some of the pain he has experienced this year. Cancelled the wisdom teeth surgery: it is just all too much. He has been on his school website and is definitely looking forward to next year. Lots of loose ends right now and it's not the way that probably either one of us pictured the ending for the senior year. But this too shall pass.</p>
<p>I think I too should celebrate how well this son "lives in the moment".. I am sure I would not want it to end (no matter how exciting college appears) if I were flying 12,000 miles away, leaving behind best friends of 12 years duration, and moving somewhere with absolutely no access to my favorite chili sauce, among other things.</p>
<p>My son will hopefully have a roommate bringing all imaginable amusements, as his own bags will be light, and partly packed with particular brand of dry noodles...ugh. </p>
<p>Again, too bad so many kids are injured, having dental procedures, surgery and the like that this point in the year. I suppose this is as good a time as any(once AP and IB are done), but there is fun to be missed!!</p>
<p>My D is very eager to start college, but has no senioritis. She's having a great year, enjoying the last months with her friends. It's been smooth here. </p>
<p>NJres, sorry about your situation. That must be so frustrating.</p>
<p>Final Wind Symphony performance last night. Seniors honored, of course. Encore was an (intended) tear-jerker, "You'll Never Walk Alone." The sound filled the auditorium. Music director, me and most parents I looked at welling up. Not sad tears for me, just "milestone" tears. And realizing that these kids, who are so close, will stay that way for awhile, but some will inevitably go their separate ways.</p>
<p>Afterward, S actually admitted to tears, as did his two best friends. They are feeling the closeness of these last moments.</p>
<p>DD, the senior, who like me, was blessed with senioritis since second grade!! So she is having fun, as usual, while pulling all A's this semester. She and her best friend from second grade (who lives on the other coast and is at UCSC) are taking a trip to surf in Hawaii this summer but will be spending some of the summer here trying out the coast line and down in FL with my folks. </p>
<p>My mom's graduation present to DD: swim suits. Lots of them. Says a lot. But she is also needs them for college, for her sport. High school for DD was more of a way to pass time, she knew what she wanted to do long ago (arch) and practice her sport. For her college is where she will REALLY practice and where her program is that she has been waiting for. So she is not so much excited but relieved she will be there finally.</p>
<p>As that we are a really close family her going far away is what is/will be difficult. I was the one who took her to TWO daily practices, meets, school functions, spend the weekends together. Her bros will also miss her terribly. She has 2 out of 4 classes this term with her bro that is a junior. He is so going to miss her, they eat lunch together everyday, have for all years in hs.</p>
<p>She has most of her stuff ready to go and packed in boxes (linens, school stuff, extras). But she hasn't spent any time looking at the college website, or specific school info. Spends more time pesting her little bro who has a slew of AP exams this week. I thought for sure I would find her locked up in the closet this morning, as she would not leave him be last night to study for calc. She wanted to yak about prom and he was busy with integrals! I am really going to miss all this!!</p>
<p>wow! We have only just begun to focus on prom, and maybe (?) a very very small graudation party as S wants to invite only close friends. Invitation by email only. Then comes summer camp. And only afterward will he begin to think about college, even though he's been ready since 9th grade, in a way.</p>
<p>We are not giving the son a chance to clear out the room, we are downsizing instead...2 gone in 2 years and we don't need our space anymore... But, we will keep the pool table for the trips home (in the middle of the living room). Makes me think back to their early days in Alaska. Limited outdoor play season for young ones prompted us to have a living room full of Little TIkes Climbing structures and such. We are coming full circle! </p>
<p>Momsdream, no news expected, if any, for a while...just hanging!</p>
<p>S is definitely ready to be done with HS, but not yet focused on "next year".</p>
<p>Senior project is done, APs this week (complete with video game calc warm-up), prom this Sat and then a few more weeks of classes with lots of senior events mixed in. We have had several snow days this year, so graduation has just been pushed back a week-6/17. He seems to be in the "living in the moment" camp. </p>
<p>As far as looking ahead to college life-we have decided to fly down to Fl early and told S we will go shopping for all his stuff when we get there. His reply, "What stuff? I'll just pack some shorts and tshirts in my backpack." Let's hope he doesn't room with momsdream's S-a dorm room filled with just 2 kids and 2 backpacks! He definitely did not inherit his mother's shopping gene.</p>
<p>Well, my-3, sounds like our S's are cut from the same cloth - and going to the same school, right? Here's what S wants to take:</p>
<p>Shorts, jeans, flip flops, t-shirts, a desk lamp, school supplies, bath suits, towels, his laptop and maybe his printer. And a sport jacket. Really, that was the exact list he gave me when we talked about what new stuff he might need to buy. (I suggested the desk lamp.) It is funny cause this kid is a clothes horse (likes funny t-shirts he can get for cheap at Value Village and has a huge collection of said t-shirts). Hopes his roommate doesn't bring a TV as he fears it will too distracting. Hasn't asked about a frige. Happy to use his laptop to play music. And of course we are thrilled that we don't need to send much in the way of warm clothes, as we did when D went to Grinnell!</p>
<p>Wish_it - don't forget the Birkenstocks - standard dress-up shoes for guys below the salt line as we sometimes call it! Shorts, blue blazer, white shirt unbuttoned, loose tie and Birkenstocks - I kid you not! Oh and a bill cap, well broken in - preppy dress of choice.
Maybe in Miami there is enough South American/Hispanic/European type influence that they actually dress-up occasionally!</p>
<p>Our senior son is very excited about his college, and has occasionally been online at the school website "chatting" with future classmates. But he has not been planning the next 4 years, etc. (Our DD did that at the end of her senior year--was far more "anxious" to head out the door to college and get started on her future.</p>
<p>S loves his current school, and will be sorry to say goodbye to a fantastic experience there, and to so many close friends. He is still very busy with all of his classes--finals in all his AP courses last week, 6 AP exams over the next 2 weeks, several papers, and his val speech to write and prepare. And...there are the senior activities and a trip right before graduation, so he is much more focused on all of that.</p>
<p>We always knew that he would be less enthused about leaving, in spite of his thrill at going to his dream school. We know that over the summer the excitement will build, and he'll have more time to focus on it than he has right now!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Wish_it - don't forget the Birkenstocks - standard dress-up shoes for guys below the salt line as we sometimes call it! Shorts, blue blazer, white shirt unbuttoned, loose tie and Birkenstocks - I kid you not! Oh and a bill cap, well broken in - preppy dress of choice.</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>Oh Cangel, so hot.... I'm a student and was just lurking about on this thread, but I just had to comment when I read that description. :D</p>
<p>Clearly I am tugging at the reins to go off to college, as even when I'm in school (i.e. right now) I manage to sneak away to go talk to 09 friends online! I've been running a countdown to college counter since sophomore year, so...</p>
<p>D has completely ignored college once the decision was made. She and her friends have been together for 13 years, and none of them wants to leave one another. This is a very tight-knit group of about 30-40 kids who think they will NEVER have friends as good as one another. The dean commented recently that usually seniors can't wait to finish, but that this class would like another year together! So, in typical fashion for D, the focus is on graduation shoes, dress for the open house, dress for prom and getting a new car before going to Florida (her current car will never make it!). Hopefully, once school is out she will be forward facing ,but for now, it's in the far distant future.</p>
<p>The most revealing line when she was deciding which school to attend:
"but Mom, I can't go to school in Floriday -- I have too many cute winter clothes."</p>
<p>S here hasn't given two seconds of thought to the stuff he'll need next year nor the schedule he might want to take. He had several weeks of agonizing over the decision between 2 colleges and seems almost grateful to wind down his senior year. And his grades are winding "down" with him. Once his 3 AP exams are behind him, I'm just praying he doesn't do anything stupid to prevent graduation!!</p>
<p>Roby, I had to smile at the image of the living room with the Little Tykes structures in it....been there done that!! </p>
<p>JMMom...I'm practically crying reading your post because I did the same thing at every "last" last year with my older child. I guess I am up to that point with this second kid but like i said, she is out of many of her "lasts". However, I know one tear jerker moment that she still gets to have (well, maybe there ARE a few, just not as many)...but she is a dancer and she has danced at our dance studio for ten years and is also in a select dance repetory troupe there. Every spring her rep troupe performs around the region and so she is not in those performances but we went to one recently (weird for her to be watching it, not on stage). But there is also an annual dance performance at a theater (which also includes the rep troupe along with many other dances she would have been in like her last pointe ballet, etc). Anyway, every year the director choreographs a lyrical dance for seniors in the repertory company and everyone cries every year. This was to have been my D's turn at that. There are only three seniors in the troupe, she being one of them. It so happens that the director planned to choreograph this particular senior dance to John Lennon's Imagine as sung by Eva Cassidy. By coincidence my daughter had recorded a CD last year at school as a project for a music tech class and had sung this song in the style of Eva Cassidy on her demo CD and so when my D had this accident recently, the director wanted to include her in the dance performance and has decided to have my daughter sing the song as the other two girls dance it (normally there are no live singers in this show) and so that is what they are gonna do and my husband is accompanying her on guitar, so she will have that moment with everyone, just not like we would have "imagined". </p>