<p>@halflokum, exactly. Bought it…but no car to show for it. When did that happen?</p>
<p>@MsMommy At her VERY last audition in late February of course. My quote was: “honey, I’m glad you’re alive but I’ve got news for you, even if you get into this school you are NOT going here because I’m never coming back here ever again.” (But it involved at a very well loved school with an awesome program BTW so nobody else should follow my mantra). </p>
<p>Agree with Bisouu. It just started to hit me last week, with one auction to go, that at the end of this process she will actually leave home and go to college. Sobbed over the dinner dishes. So thrilled for her but I will miss her like crazy. Maybe all of this has been a good distraction…</p>
<p>I’ve also decided to add many CC children/members to my list of things to worry about so there’s that…lol</p>
<p>I went so far a couple of days ago as to hunt up a video of D singing at age 10… had a good bawl wondering where the time all went!</p>
<p>I’ve been giving son the spontaneous hugs and sighing for a few months now. Son has been very tolerant…
On the money end, I’ve told the family this is the age of austerity! Though not in Halflokum’s league, I’ve added two crowns and a must attend, wouldn’t miss it for the world, wedding in California in May. Son’s acceptance to the in-state U looks more and more enticing! </p>
<p>MT S is youngest of 3 boys. Other 2 go to school in town. Eldest still lives at home and #2 lives near campus, but neither of them had - or has - near the number of shows/concerts for a parent to attend. So when MT S leaves, so do ALL the driving commitments for rehearsals, the rushing after work to get to a show, and the on-my-way-home calls for “Uh, Mom, I forgot my dance shoes” (at least I hope those stop). I should be kicking up my heels, but I’m not. . . It’s had to believe, but after all the nagging I’ve done to “PLEASE, clean this up”, I’m going to miss the piles of sheet music all over the dining room floor, the heaps of discarded dance wear flung over every surface in the living room and the stacks of borrowed-from-the-library MT CDs and DVDs constantly sliding off the computer desk and coffee table. I’ll probably be keeping the the multiple binders containing all the information I’ve collected on college programs and summer intensives. I started “cultivating” them when he was in junior high. They represent a part-time job - sometimes it felt like full-time - that I would do again in a heartbeat to help him continue on this path that chose him when he was 10 years old. OK, now I need another box of tissues.</p>
<p>I’m already-- in my mind-- packing up son for college. I need to prepare myself. I lay in bed thinking of what he’ll need to bring for his room and wonder where his roommate will be from. His 1 official acceptance so far is for a school “across the pond,” so that adds a lot more to think about-- banking, cost of travel, culture shock, and I worry about him eating properly. (No food plan.) I keep telling him-- If you go to XYZ-- I’m giving you a crash course in cooking, young man! (He’d eat cereal and granola bars all day… Actually, I think all boys need to know how to cook these days…) I’d only see him every 3 months or so, and I’d miss him terribly, but I also think that it’s such an incredible opportunity and oh, what awesome travel weekends he could take. </p>
<p>I can sympathize with all of you as this was me just a year ago! But I will tell you that leaving my daughter at a school on the total opposite side of the country thousands of miles away wasn’t as hard as I had imagined, believe it or not!! (she’s a Freshman at Ithaca and we live in the Seattle burbs) I seriously thought I would feel uncontrollable heart-wrenching sobs, the “Ugly cry” as Oprah used to call it! We had never even been to New York state when we took the trip to take her to college, but when I saw the city, saw the college, met the people, and saw how truly excited she was to follow her dream literally since the age of 3, how could I be anything but happy for her??!! That doesn’t mean we didn’t cry when it came time to leave, but I didn’t do the ugly cry and my heart wasn’t being ripped from my chest like I thought it would be. So I hope the journey is tolerably painful for all of you and best of luck to your kids whereever they may end up!!! 
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<p>I think it depends a lot on your child. This is my fourth child to do the college application process! Some kids are much more independent than others and you can send them off and not worry about them terribly; you can communicate with them by text, email, skype and phone, and honestly, they were already independent in high school and it doesn’t feel horribly different. They come home during breaks and the summer and often you are very ready for them to leave again! However, for other students, the transition is a lot harder–it depends on the student, the family dynamics, and so on. Some kids benefit by being close enough that they know they can easily come home during a weekend if necessary. For other kids, that would be suffocating. For parents, some kids are a real pleasure to have back home on break, and for others, the kid can be a pain in the neck, much as you love them! I think the key is to know your own child, and for your kid, they need to know themselves, and not be pressured by what the world expects of them. Since they are only 17 or 18, this is a tall order. But the more they know what they want and need, and the more safe they feel reaching out to supports like you or the ones at school, the better their experience will be, and by extension, yours. </p>
<p>Our D is ready to take on the world. I call her the oldest 17 year old that I know. She has common sense, is good with money, good with people, a good student, a good cook, a reliable employee, etc. She has no illusions about how hard it will be to make a life in MT, yet she’s willing to press on. We’re not too worried about her, but we will miss her terribly this time next year. </p>
<p>Our 15 year old computer nerd S is another matter. No household skills at all, besides spreading Nutella on toast. School and homework are too boring to merit his attention. We love him, but he may be with us for a while. </p>
<p>@SU88BFA - I agree wholeheartedly that boys should learn to cook. I started making family meals when I was 13 and have loved to cook and entertain ever since. I think that my homemade Alfredo sauce may have sealed the deal with my wife. PM me for the recipe - only 3 ingredients and it’s stupid easy to make.</p>
<p>mike - do you think my “Nutella” MT S could handle your alfredo sauce? He’s happy to eat cold, plain noodles out of the fridge rather than “cook” something.</p>
<p>Mike, we have similar situations, our D is our youngest & is much more mature then our older (almost 21!) S, who has done some community college, but right now is trying to figure out a direction, yes he’s gonna be w/us for awhile! And my hubby is the cook in our house too!</p>
<p>@cheeseheadmmike - we must be raising the same children! (Except, of course, that my D is a little lacking in common sense at times and S prefers peanut butter. lol) I keep telling S to watch out because in a couple of months he will be the sole focus of my parental attention. :)</p>
<p>Wisely said connections. </p>
<p>@AMothersLove - Ooooh, good point. I’ll let the S know tonight that the little bubble that he’s been living in is going to burst when Mom and I no longer need to focus on D’s audition process.</p>
<p>At freshman orientation at BoCo this past September, at a parent forum, one of the staff recommended that all parents read a book entitled, “Letting Go, A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years,” by Karen Levin Coburn. It’s available on Amazon for download. I read it cover to cover on the plane ride home from moving our son in last September. I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially for those parents for whom this is their first child going off to college. </p>
<p>I guess this would fall under the sharing venue…I know that there is an overdone song list and kids are looking for “new” songs to maybe put in their repertoire so here is a little known musical that has amazing music in it. It’s called Taboo" and was written by Boy George. Check out the songs Petrified and Il Adore. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity…how many of you have only children? Mine is an only… how many are left handed? …can you tell I am going nuts with this waiting?!</p>
<p>There’s good news in the Cheese household tonight - D got a call from Drake University with a hearty acceptance to their MT BFA program! And it was from a walk-in at Chicago Unifieds, no less. </p>