<p>My D has exams this week and will come home Weds. till after Thanksgiving. We bought books for second quarter this weekend - she survived, we survived and ALL IS WELL!!!</p>
<p>She is pretty confident in her grades, landed a job for which she was recommended by her professor in her major starting winter quarter in the Communications Skills center - she is excited to have landed a job that will actually be beneficial to her resume and future! </p>
<p>It is amazing how far her journey has taken her in just 10 short weeks!</p>
<p>Not first quarter, but Mathson seems to be doing well. It looks like he's getting B's on his history papers and got a B on the physics mid-term which surprised him a bit - he knows the material. A's in everything else and he added a course - albeit for minimal credit. It was half way between a club and a course it involved practicing for a computer contest. You got 9 credits for attending and doing the hw and 3 for just attending. He's doing the latter. (Divide by 3 to get normal university credit counting.) It doesn't look like it's too easy, he was too busy to do his normal novel a week routine the first few months though he seems to be more relaxed now. Just had his first major bug - some kind of tummy bug over the weekend.</p>
<p>abasket, it's amazing how quickly it's gone. I just said to H tonight, "A week from tomorrow and he'll be home!" I hope our kids realize what an accomplishment it is to have handled their first few months away the way they have. I know it's been a mass of new experiences and emotions. I don't know about grades, but S seems to feel that he's done fine, so we'll see.</p>
<p>He's at a school on the trimester system, so he'll be home for 6 weeks, until after New Year's. We're all looking forward to it (well, okay, 10-year-old D isn't thrilled; she's enjoyed being the only kid). I wonder how long it will take S to miss being at school?</p>
<p>Mathmom, hope your S is feeling much better. I'm so impressed that he usually reads a novel a week. It sounds like my S spent a good portion of his free time playing "Assassins," something I hadn't heard of before.</p>
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I wonder how long it will take S to miss being at school?
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<p>It won't take long. My son was on the computer sending IMs, or on facebook for hours last year (he was freshman last year). He was only home for 3 only weeks and could not wait to get back to school. He handled being away from friends over the summer a bit better because he was busy working. The last few weeks of the summer he was also getting antsy to get back. He did visit with one college friend over the summer and that helped a bit.</p>
<p>I don't doubt D will miss her new "family". I think she will be happy to be home (she has been home 3 times I think since she left cause she's not far) but will also miss school. Heck, when she came home overnight this weekend for her b-day she brought a friend with her AND received numerous phone calls/texts from her dormmates who didn't seem to be able to function without her! Honestly, that makes me very happy!</p>
<p>Unfortunately most of our kids will still be facing finals between T'giving and Christmas/Winter break. I hope I can quit buying stuff and hugging her enough that she can study!</p>
<p>Our daughter is coming home this Fri, a few days early so we could go somewhere sunny for Thanksgiving. It's probably a bit selfish of us, but we will have her to ourselves for 7 days. Where we are going won't have internet or cell phone service- I think she may go through withdraw. Unfortunately after the holiday she will be facing finals, then she will be home for 5 weeks and off to London to visit a friend. She is going back to school early for the rush. </p>
<p>The first semester has gone by very fast. She was so sad when she left home for college. It is amazing to us how happy she is at school. She is doing well in her classes, but she is also working her behind off. The worst thing was when she got sick last week with fever (pure exhaustion after her prelims). When we couldn't reach her for a few hours, we thought she had passed out in her room. It turned out she was feeling better and had gone out to get something to eat (I was very close in driving 4 hours to check up on her). She said to us, "Do you know how often my friends text me? They would have come by to check on me if they didn't hear from me." It made me feel better, but it also made a little bit sad that she has a different network of people that care about her.</p>
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Mathmom, hope your S is feeling much better. I'm so impressed that he usually reads a novel a week. It sounds like my S spent a good portion of his free time playing "Assassins," something I hadn't heard of before.
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I remember reading about "Assassins" on the MIT website - it sounded like fun. Not much better yet, but on the mend, he doesn't sound too good, but we checked up on him this evening and he'd gone to classes.</p>
<p>My D will be working on papers over Thanksgiving, but I am so glad she agreed to come home. Initially, she said she couldn't imagine flying (from MI to CA) for a long weekend, which made me very sad. Over Parents' Weekend, she decided she wanted to make her first trip home since she left in late August.</p>
<p>Just tonight after I had had a very nice talk with my D I was thinking about how the college years form a nice bridge between the parent-child relationship and the adult-adult relationship we all hope to have with our children some day. Fortunately, since we speak frequently, I do not really miss my D (other than the hugs both given and received), and, in some ways I am happier not knowing (and not worrying) about all the day to day matters such as how much she is sleeping, what she is eating, or when she gets "home." I love being called for advice or because she wants to chat. </p>
<p>It has been a long two months as she has gone through the stages of adjustment away from home. While she is still looking for that "best friend," she has made a number of friends, seems busy, and generally happy. She has learned to deal with her anxiety by recognizing that she cannot procrastinate or she risks becoming so overwhelmed that she mentally "shuts down." Each week I see more maturity, more taking responsibility, for her studies, her happiness, and, generally, her life. I am both very happy and very proud.</p>
<p>Wow, I'm jealous that your kids get such long breaks. S1 at big state u. has semester exams until Dec. 18. The first day of class for Spring semester is Jan.9.</p>
<p>Can't wait to see son#2 as I haven't seen him since I moved him into his dorm on Labor Day. He has two early finals tomorrow, and then two more finals next Tuesday. In between, 2 more papers , one group project presentation, and a foreign language oral exam. He'll be busy, but he's happy. </p>
<p>We're meeting him in Chicago to visit Family for Thanksgiving, along with S#1 and his girlfriend who will also come to Chicago for the big feed . Then he will be home with us for about 6 weeks--his classes resume the morning of Jan.2. Way to early in my opinion !</p>
<p>We're going to see our son for Thanksgiving. Since my parents live sorta near his campus that works well. Today is his 19th birthday--his first away from us. I wish I could be there but he does have friends to celebrate with. He's really happy with his school.</p>
<p>Happy birthday to your S, bethievt! I hadn't thought about it, but our son will have his 19th birthday without us in January. College means new experiences for all of us.:(</p>
<p>My H went to Family Weekend but I stayed home with the 10yo D, so I'm really looking forward to seeing S.</p>
<p>We can't wait until next Tuesday. Our D will return home for the first time and her brother will come home as well (he's a junior). It's been an upward trajectory for her since September. She had a rough start during orientation, even talking about transferring, but once classes started it's been a completely different story. She now says she is in the perfect place for her. She loves her classes, is doing quite well grade-wise, and has become involved in diverse extracurriculars. I don't know if she really has a "best" friend yet (most of the orientation problem), but she certainly has a wide circle of friends and always seems to be busy. I can track the changes via our cell phone bill! Multiple very long calls per day at the beginning, now tapering to several calls a week, most of the 3-5 minute variety, unless she's bored! She's one of those talk while you walk kids! She comes home Tuesday night and returns on Sunday for her last week of classes followed by exams. She'll be home the 6th and returns to school on January 6th. I know we're looking forward to seeing her, and she's looking forward to seeing her HS friends, but given our experiences (she's the youngest of 3), she'll be more than ready to go back to school on 1/6.
As for birthdays, she celebrated her 18th mid-October and it was very tough for mom not to be there. Had Parents Weekend not been the weekend before, I probably would have flown out. Instead I sent her "Birthday in a Box" and she and her friends had a great time!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!</p>
<p>runnersmom, did you make up the "birthday in a box" yourself or find it "in toto" somewhere? I'd love to hear what you put in it--sounds like a great idea.</p>
<p>First term for a college senior reminds me of the nerves of HS seniors and freshmen. If a senior is headed for grad school, applications must be in by end of Nov. Law and med school exams need to be taken in the fall. For those headed into the work force, Oct and Nov are busy times with interviews. College classes get squeezed in. </p>
<p>yes. Interviewing as we speak. His major CS/econ. He'd love to do analysis in finance firm or finance consulting firm, but that field is SO limited now. The ups & downs are nervewracking. He was 1:2 from his school to be flown for an interview at a terrific company, but then didn't get hired. He has 3rd interview for a boston firm tomorrow.</p>
<p>The major companies come for career fair, but I am sure there are terrific, smaller firms that would be a good if not better match. Unfortunately, my knowledge in this field is dismal.</p>
<p>My D's school is on a semester schedule, so about three weeks to go after Thanksgiving, which she'll spend at her sister's in CO. Then we get her for almost five weeks...can hardly wait! But when I mentioned the length of the break during a recent conversation, she groaned and said she didn't know how she would be able to stand it! Immediately she realized what she had said and added that she didn't mean being home, she meant being away from everything at school. So I guess I can deduce that she is very happy and has some good friends, but I really don't know much about classes, grades, etc.</p>
<p>D has been pretty involved in an EC that has entailed some travel. They were at a conference in CT a while back and she was walking across the campus there and ran into the boyfriend of one of her best high school friends from Germany. He's an EU citizen but studying in DC this year and was there in CT for the same EC conference!</p>
<p>I guess there are pros/cons to all school schedules. My daughter will have about 12 days off at Thanksgiving, but at Christmas will be done Dec. 21 and will return Jan. 5 - so a shorter break than many. </p>
<p>But what you say is true - I agree and I think she would agree - she is so attached to the people at school - they are a relatively small, tight group that it would be difficult to leave them (weird, I know, after only knowing each other for less than 3 months) each other for weeks at a time! </p>
<p>So while I think she wishes she had a bit more time at Christmas, she likes two decent breaks nicely spaced apart...</p>