<p>musicmom, I still say that is amazing that your D can work and go to college, she must be an amazing young woman. With that kind of determination and energy she is sure to succeed! And how cool is it that your D and Lexsmoms D are roomates. We would love to see Musicman, but I don't think that it will be possible, it's a double shame because that is also S's birthday, oh well, another snip on the ole' apron string!</p>
<p>I haven't been on for a while - but had fun this morning trying to catch up on everything that I've missed. It's so neat to hear about everyones experiences so far.
Personally I feel like I can finally give a big "whew" and sigh of relief that D is settled in at BoCo. I was impressed with how smoothly the move in process worked and the busy schedule sure helped us to have fun and not think about the final minutes ticking away.<br>
They offered a parent session called "Holding on and Letting go" which I convinced my husband that we could skip because I am already an expert in the holding on part and seriously working hard on the letting go. Thought they might have to carry me out in a stretcher...so we went to the hardware store instead. Needless to say the 1400+ mile drive home was pretty long.
There were auditions last night for 2 shows and tonight for another - got a happy email today - she loves her roomates - her room and her school!
I can feel my grip loosening already! : )</p>
<p>YEAH CT MOM!!! Finally came out of "lurkdom", ha ha!!! It's about TIME!! Glad to hear your s settled in nicely; I was wondering about him! And how about that friend of his who JUST got in, MG? That's great that they're there together (is that bad grammar??) Fill me in on all the dirt! You can PM me (do ya know how to do that?) or just email me, baby!! WELCOME!!!! ;)</p>
<p>Yes, rossji, I am finally outed as the #1 CC Lurker!!</p>
<p>A few notes on our son's intro and move-in at Otterbein. First, he's thrilled to be there. We rented a van for the 9 hr drive(with stops) to Westerville. We had already purchased some items at a chain store for bed and bath items who "pack and hold " them for pickup on move in day at the local store. It was a great help to us. On Tuesday we managed to be just ahead of the rain most of the way, hit a downpour 1/2 hr before arrival, and just as we arrived on campus, everything cleared. Pretty neat. Since most moving in that day were out of staters, the numbers of students were manageable. We spent a few hours moving him into the third floor room of Mayne, a beautiful dorm compared to most I've seen. Two RA's from two different floors introduced themselves and helped, directed us whenever possible. ALL of the students were very nice and welcoming. His is an Honors dorm with a pretty diverse mix; we met mostly soccer players and theatre kids. </p>
<p>Orientation day was beautiful - kept the kids and parents well occupied w/ plenty of chances to get questions answered. Our son was pleased w/ his small orientation group and got to meet a lot of students beyond his major. Tuesday and Wednesday night we ate at a local pub style restaurant for dinner. Lunches were in the cafeteria with excellent desserts. The town of Westerville is very nice with plenty of restaurants, coffeehouses, bookstores, etc. within walking distance. There were also plenty of opportunities for the freshman to get to know each other at meal time w/ special events planned for them. Advisor meetings and freshman seminar meetings went very smoothly and we believe our son feels well prepared to begin classes tomorrow. He and some other theatre students did community service yesterday/ playground trash pickup and many of the same group are today headed to a reception at the home of the head of the honor's program. Last night some of the older M/T students hosted a party with the freshman invited which apparently was quite a hit. The school has a very intimate feel to it - but not claustrophobic.</p>
<p>One great thing is that the school got the OK from the accepted M/T kids to share emails and possibly connect onlineat the beginning of the summer. So even though they come from all parts of the country, this group has been well connected already. They appear quite ready to grow and learn with each other as friends and artists. </p>
<p>We returned our rental van to the Columbus airport and flew home by Southwest for 1/5 the cost of the car ride there. Something to keep in mind if anyone from a distance winds up looking at schools in the Columbus area. Best wishes to all as they begin their first year. If I can be of any help to the h/s senior bunch, please don't hesitate to contact me.</p>
<p>Despite only having 48 hours home before leaving for his sophomore year, S is starting another great year at OCU. (He spent the summer 800 miles away doing summer stock.) We got him moved into his small, nice, furnished college apt., organized and ready for classes in record time. Last year he was in the dorms the smallest dorm rooms I have ever seen! Lucky they are building new ones now. I learned a lot last year and rather than hauling things down to OCU from Minnesota to simply reserved them at the nearby stores. We will look into storage rental for him to leave his stuff over the summer.</p>
<p>The first day of classes they had auditions and he was called back for Bud in Urban Cowboy and chorus in Music Man, but didnt land either. Next were the auditions for the operas where he finally found luck in the title character of the spotlight opera Signor Deluso. Its kind of serendipitous, during fall break his junior year of high school (2003) we visited OCU and we watched the spotlight opera. Now its another 800 mile trip for us to see him perform in October. Since late June we will have traveled 6,400 miles; twice to see his three summer stock shows in Montana - thankfully he is our youngest! Parents of auditioning seniors if your student goes to school far away remember to add travel expenses for you into that college budget! </p>
<p>One piece of advice S gets a cold every mid September. I put together a medicine kit with all the things that work for him to limit the colds duration and severity. He has used it this week -right on schedule.</p>
<p>cluelessmc2--do you mind my asking what sorts of things help your S with colds?</p>
<p>Clueless, my D is also class of '09 at OCU, and she has a cold now, too! Must really be going around. She said a lot of people are sick right now. Congrats on his opera role. When my D was looking at MT schools, I told her I would prefer she be close enough for me to come see her perform. I knew I couldn't afford to fly to the east coast to see her very often. It is a four-hour drive for me--far enough for her to feel like she left home, but close enough for me to drive. I don't go very often, but it's nice to know I can if I need or want to.</p>
<p>What didn't I know about freshman year? Well, a lot. But what I am frustrated about not knowing is how early I should have ordered plane tickets for the Thanksgiving visit home! Now the best return time home is sold out. Where's the handbook on this sort of thing? </p>
<p>Other than that, daughter at OU is well (the cold hit there last week) and happy. Costume construction takes a LOT of time and effort, but the teacher is very nice. Rehearsals for Once Upon a Mattress start on Monday, so she's excited about that!</p>
<p>Congrats to all on their roles and "good fits" at the schools they chose to attend. :) :D</p>
<p>Wait, I thought some people didn't want smilies because they take too long to load or something?</p>
<p>Son at OCU has cold also, he came down with it this week-end, also has cold kit at school! Great minds think alike!</p>
<p>I may forget something but for sure Zicam swabs use the moment you feel that cold tingle in your nose. My whole family swears by them. Then Alka-Seltzer cold, Zink drops, vitamin C tabs, chap stuff for lips and nose and expectorant tablets that my tired mind can not think of right now and my S is at Choir practice or I would call him (someone help me!). Also lots of little tissue packs and hand sanitizer so as not to share the germs. He has a vaporizer that we forgot to pack but I will bring this down in October.</p>
<p>He already sounds better although there is a cough. He has pretty severe asthma that a cold can really get out of hand so I try to encourage lots of rest. LOL</p>
<p>My D swears by the Zicam stuff, too. I can't remember the last time I had a cold, so I haven't tried it, but D and my mother both think it's great. I noticed D had a cough, too, when I talked to her last. She is in cluelessmc2's son's studio and said the whole studio is sick, including Dr. R. On weather.com, it said the pollen count was very high in OKC. I wonder if they are allergic to something there. She says she doesn't feel bad and has no fever. Wish I were a doctor sometimes!</p>
<p>Yes, travel costs must be considered! Our approximately 850 miles won't be driven often. We're flying to Elon for parent's weekend and Collage this weekend. I'm going to try to make it to all performances that he's in and am becoming an expert on finding the best airfares (not easy, and we have no direct flight options).</p>
<p>Still, when your child is having the best time ever, the distance is worth it!</p>
<p>Actually, it seems more than anything else that strep throat is going around OCU! I also have a friend who just came down with mono. I'm glad I'm not her roommate. I'm getting over a cold that I've had for the past two weeks, as well. Zicam helped me more than anything else, but I was also taking vitamin C and mucinex for a while. Mucinex and zicam are, unfortunately, very expensive. I guess medications are another cost I didn't figure in.</p>
<p>I don't know how my son, sophomore at OCU- also in Ragsdale's studio, has stayed healthy so far. I guess the cold is probably coming. </p>
<p>I also wanted to mention that CC's Shauna will be in the ensemble of Urban Cowboy in November.</p>
<p>chrisr - hope your son stays healthy and what fantastic news about Shauna!!!! Thanks so much for sharing. She was so wonderfully helpful on this forum for such a long time. I hope she knows the old-timers still remember her and think of her fondly.</p>
<p>I'm thrilled for Shauna. She has been a great asset to CC and I wish her great success.</p>
<p>vocaldad</p>
<p><em>peeks in</em></p>
<p>A little birdie told me that we were talking about Urban Cowboy! Yup, I got cast, and I'm very excited! And thank you for the well-wishes; of course I remember the "old-timers" (man, does that mean I count as an old-timer?).</p>
<p>Hope you all and all the students are doing well!</p>
<p>Shauna</p>
<p>SHAUNA!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>SO GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
I'm really proud of you and happy to learn that you were cast in the show. Have a great semester and break a leg in the show. Glad to hear how well you are doing. </p>
<p>Bop in from time to time as we all followed your journey back when. Love hearing about the next stage for you! Sorry about the pun! :D</p>
<p>Oldtimer reporting in:
Shauna, YIPPEEEEE!</p>