<p>My freshman daughter is doing her degree abroad. We dropped her and 100 lbs of her most prized possessions/clothes at the airport 2 weeks ago. She hasn’t had a phone, which in all honesty is a blessing, that combined with the 6 hour time difference means no problem will be solved by us immediately. She’s managed to get her residency permit, but no sign of health insurance or bank account…i guess when she runs out of euros she’ll set up the bank account. It has been incredibly hard not to rush in an solve the problems she doesn’t even know she has yet. But she has managed to find a new boyfriend so in her eyes things are a success. And I have cc, where I can go to find solice in the knowledge I am not alone in this journey. It takes all I have to sit and let things unfold as they will, and be supportive without being the solution. But i’ll keep trying.</p>
<p>I’m so glad that I’m not the only mom who got a call from her son to check his schedule at home because he lost his (at college 3 hours away by plane). I truly thought I must be the only one. Some of his quirks that I thought could only be his are shared by many. What a relief! This is only one of the reasons I love CC.</p>
<p>Well, it’s been over 48 hours, and things are going well. I think. His roommate is ok, and he’s met up with people he knows and new people too. Classes don’t start until the day after Labor Day, so he has plenty of time to settle in.</p>
<p>He got a flat on his bike, but figured out how to get it fixed.</p>
<p>My one worry is his funds. We had told him that he was responsible for any expenses that were not tuition, room & board, or books. We caved on the books because he didn’t get as many hours as he’d hoped on his summer job.</p>
<p>However, I’m not sure that he actually saved much from his summer job. He seemed to be living pretty high off the hog this summer. I’ve resisted the impulse to log in and check his bank balance. I did give him everything he’d need to apply for an on campus job, so if he gets low on funds, he’ll have to figure that out too.</p>
<p>(oldfort, I think you misread martina99)</p>
<p>My apology. It is very early where I am. Let me see if I could delete.</p>
<p>Great original post! had me laughing out loud. My niece just went to college (freshman) on Friday. I talked to her yesterday and told her that there was not much my son didn’t call me with his freshman year and that if she got into a sticky situation and didn’t want to call her mom she could always call me…
Let’s see…we had “I’m at a party and I went to the bathroom and now my roommate is kissing the girl I was talking to”; “I locked myself out and my cel phone is also in my apartment.”; “I just got written up for drinking on campus”; “my roommate clogged the toilet and then left for the weekend.” and many other hysterical consults which, while funny now, were not as funny at the time.</p>
<p>We had a picture perfect drop off. Son has a beautiful room overlooking a lawn with old evergreens and view of the graceful giant windmill (that supplies 1/3 of the power for the campus). Roommate, though very different in background and interests has been pronounced to be a “good guy.” Younger son said the campus was “magical.” The ceremonies and speeches were just right–inspiring. Last minute trip to Target completed arrangements for room. Left son feeling happy about his college choice, resolved to succeed, uncertain, sweet but not teary with his goodbyes and subdued. Ride home for us bittersweet to happy/excited/proud/relieved to heartbreaking. Now I’m feeling the void left in the house and received a call from son saying that he can’t stay on the phone too long because he is fighting off homesickness. He sounds apprehensive and tired but had good news about his first class, advisors, first night in dorm, etc. He is worried about making friends, admitting that this is not his strong suit–he joins the rest of the family in being introverted and slower to join in. I’m able to resist the urge to call and email only because the said it will be easier for him. Am I painting a typical picture here? Tell me this gets easier for the parents too!</p>
<p>We dropped her off at the airport, no muss no fuss. She’d already gone off to Cairo once, so it didn’t seem like a big deal. We saw her two weeks later, and things were going just fine.</p>
<p>francie12,</p>
<p>My heart goes out to you and your son. I can certainly empathize with your feelings. To be honest, throughout the months of sonny’s senior year and weeks before he left for college, I regularly felt sad and even cried hard several times in the weeks before sonny’s departure. Because I know in my heart, things will never be the same again. While I recognize independence is important for sonny, I know I will never have my son at home the same way as before. This feeling of sadness and loss is a big part of my experience now when I pause and think about the changes. Especially since I experienced so much joy and gratification with his presence in the house (he really is a good kid).</p>
<p>The good thing is that my son seems to have no homesickness. He was always dropped off at camps over the years, starting with pre-school programs and camps during elementary school. He has always been a stoic child, with hardly a backward glance after being dropped off even in new programs. He makes friends easily (and eventually became the Senior Class President in H.S.). I know he is well equipped to handle himself, even in a big city like NYC. He had participated in a 4 week political internship in NYC the summer before Senior year. He also attended summer programs at Columbia U, GW, and Stanford.</p>
<p>I know that sonny is actually happy I am not checking on his curfew time to return home after late night get togethers with friends. So he is having a great time. He loves life at NYU in NYC.</p>
<p>I sense the situation is different for your son. He is homesick (I wish mine expressed some of that so I can feel missed, 
). And that is not easy to deal with. It also makes it more painful for you as the parent who cares so much about the well-being of your child.</p>
<p>The only thing I can say is that time does help. I was constantly wanting to IChat with sonny the first week. Now I have an agreement for him to touch base with us once a week during weekends and I no longer feel the need to stay in constant contact. However, I still occasionally fire off reminders or notices about items I have sent him.<br>
Overall, though, I do not feel as anxious or “lost” without him in the house. So time heals. And it really helps to know your child is doing well. So if I were you, I would keep tabs on how your son is doing, and give him the space he needs but also maintain acceptable contact as he becomes more emotionally ready for it. I wish you the best. It really is not an easy process, both for some of the students and some of the parents.</p>
<p>Wow. Good news and I think I’m going to be able to handle son’s absence after all. Got an excited and happy call that son got into all the classes he wanted and is actually bonding with the roommate who appeared so different from him in the beginning, is starting to make friends, etc. It was really the sound of his voice that made me realize he is going to do fine. He sounded confident and optimistic and in control. Whew! It is so much easier for me to keep my balance when I’m confident that he can handle things.</p>
<p>evolving–thanks for your sympathetic words. My son called me in tears most of the days he was at camp just a short two years ago. He has changed a lot since then, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when he actually left for college. He loves schoolwork, and is perking up at the thought of sinking his teeth into new books and classes. In some ways it has been a long haul, and I’m relieved at his successful departure, and rejoicing that he will thrive in college. But man, I’m going to miss seeing him every day.</p>
<p>In my first 48 hours this year I called my mom at 3am because my air conditioner was flooding my room and I didn’t know how to make it stop and water was running down the wall over an electrical outlet. I am not sure what I thought she was going to be able to tell me to do, but it seemed like what I was supposed to do at the time. 
I did calm down enough after talking to her to figure out how to fix it myself.</p>