<p>I need to stock up on "girlfriend food" so they'll stay here while they're both home. She actually likes my cooking. 22 hours and counting and I'm staying busy cleaning his room today, dusting and vacuuming 4 months of dust. Can't wait to see him. I hope everyone is enjoying their children.</p>
<p>I love this thread. I remember the thread last summer about what parents were planning to do with the vacated bedroom--turning it into a guest room, a study, having younger sibling move in, etc... Looks like none of the redecoration took place!</p>
<p>CD...now my few memory cells are connecting...he dropped football and decided on Tulane and is working the EMS. Yeah, dropping football would be a major lifestyle change.</p>
<p>There you go TheDad, you have connected all the dots now. The EMS crowd works around the clock, and even those who are not on duty hang out with those that are, and they watch movies, study, etc. It is a huge social structure. And, from those that we met during parents' weekend, a great bunch of kids.</p>
<p>Son is home and wants real food-had enough junk during finals. He almost turned green when I asked if he wanted pizza for lunch. His best meal last week was probably when he treated his roommate to In n Out as a good bye - kid is returning to Texas for school next semester. :(-this was roommate #2, #1 was banned from the dorm-nice kid just stupid decisions.</p>
<p>Thanks Cruella ;). We have a few of those items on hand too....of course most things disappear as quickly as they are purchased, but my teenage daughters have a hand in that too! </p>
<p>Idler....ouch, you're making me misty-eyed.....but I feel the same way, only really right now, just genuinely joyful. </p>
<p>Marite, actually, I confess to having done a relatively major updating and improving of son's room. It is still absolutely his, but new in many respects and absolutely gorgeous. It is now "available" as a guest suite, but I am not sure how I will be when our first guest stays there--I may feel that they are something of an imposter!! Son is delighted with the improvements and clearly in possession of the space--so I think that I can safely say that as long as the changes are done with child in mind, it is a safe undertaking.</p>
<p>Wonderful to hear all the coming home stories. For all the jabs we take for being overly ambitious and/or protective parents, there sure does seem to be a whole lot of love here......</p>
<p>My S is home safe and sound, did great with the drive and of course called from 15 min away to make sure there would be food ready!! Now I can relax and enjoy the holidays!</p>
<p>D is in the air over the Pacific Ocean! Will breakfast on sourdough pancakes wild blueberry syrup and reindeer sausage, Dungeness crabcakes (a la Chesapeake Bay) chocolate lava cakes (belated birthday) tonight for dinner, I'll open a fine bottle of Chardonnay and just listen. I am looking for to cooking for her, seems the boyfriend has missed my cooking too. Can't wait to have the whole family together. Hope eveyone has wonderful visits with their children. I will look forward to reading a "post winter break thread" .</p>
<p>Crabbylady, heck, can I come and have some of that?? Sounds delicious! Have fun!</p>
<p>Just hung the "welcome home" sign on the garage (my younger son was embarrassed) and we're heading to the airport. Happy Holidays to everyone.</p>
<p>Finally can join the club! We picked son up at the airport last night -- five and a half hours after he was originally scheduled to land -- and, having learned our lesson at Thanksgiving when he called a friend from the backseat of the car on the way from the airport to go to Taco Bell at midnight, handed him a loaf of Semifreddi Olive Bread right at the gate. (for Bay Area cognescenti). He grinned, said he wasn't hungry, then ate half of it while waiting at baggage claim. Guess in Berkeley that counts as "man-food":D</p>
<p>He looks great, and is very happy -- though still in a little shock from his first set of college finals. He set off holiday shopping today with cash he earned from his first bar-tending gig and, of course, is out tonight with friends.</p>
<p>Leaving for airport in two minutes.</p>
<p>Our D is stuck in the Cincinnati airport, having made it from Hartford. The last flight to Seattle got cancelled so she has a flight out tomorrow at noon. She is bummed and threatening only to travel by train. All the hotel rooms were already taken but they did give her a pillow, blanket, food vouchers and phone cards. I have promised her curry for dinner tomorrow night. We are bummed too.</p>
<p>I am very sorry to hear that hassle, Mini. I know you have waited so long to see her and now have to wait longer. Poor kid is going to be so tired from this all after finals too. But she will handle it maturely and be fine. Sorry it happened. Get ready for joy when she steps off the plane tomorrow. I probably should not have read your post because my 16 year old is flying on a trip Friday to Florida and while she has flown alone before, she has never changed planes before and I know things can happen in winter and during a holiday period and I worry how she could handle it, but we are letting her do it as this was the only way to work it out. Your D's scenario is not one I want to happen, that's for sure. I guess my D would figure it all out too. Just another cause of worry for parents!</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Online article on Coming home of College Students in WSJ</p>
<p>"You're not at college anymore"
Ask college students what it's like when they go home for the holidays - especially freshman year - and their stories range from being treated like royalty to feeling like slaves.......</p>
<p>By Kim Campbell | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor</p>
<p>It is my daughter's second year away and there is no change in how pumped up I get when she comes home for the holidays. Talk to me in a week when the house is in total disorder and I might have other things to say but for now it is grand. She arrived last evening and proceeded to eat a ton of Chinese takeout, put on her pajamas and start the process of decompressing from exams. I settled down with a heating pad (bad back) and a book. I should not have been surprised when doorbell rang at 11:00 PM announcing one of her good friends who had come to grab the D and head for the local 24 hr. diner where the kids all meet when they are home from school. Ah, youth.</p>
<p>Happy Holidays, everybody.</p>
<p>"I am very sorry to hear that hassle, Mini. I know you have waited so long to see her and now have to wait longer. Poor kid is going to be so tired from this all after finals too. But she will handle it maturely and be fine. Sorry it happened. Get ready for joy when she steps off the plane tomorrow."</p>
<p>Latest news is that she has a 4:40 plane out of Cincy! Whoopee! (My boss' kid is stuck in Dayton!) Waited in line for 3 1/2 hours to get a seat. No finals stress. She finished all her papers early. Breezed through her exams, though she did participate in the traditional Smith "Primal Scream". So gotta chalk this one up to the "freshman experience".</p>
<p>Meanwhile, all of our homeschooling friends swung into action. One family five minutes from the airport offered to take her in. Another family had a Delta airline pilot who offered to run interference for her. Several offered local phone numbers to call for local moral support (she knew at least one of the kids.) </p>
<p>We leave for India Tuesday night! (It's 91 in Madurai!)</p>
<p>Mini:
If you are going to Madurai, chances are strong that you are a South Indian like me (yes, people - other countries have perceived sterotypes for NorthXXXian and SouthXXXian too :-) . I'm originally from Madras myself, but that 91 brings back sweaty memories. Have a good time, and enjoy the homemade vadai_sambar/ dosai/avial...</p>
<p>Vanakkum! No, not native, though I have "adopted" parents from there (just finished a book about them that you can see at <a href="http://www.skylarksings.com%5B/url%5D">www.skylarksings.com</a> ), an adopted daughter from Mumbai, and I am a veena player. Second "home" at Gandhigram, though my parents the land-reform organizers do most of their work in Nagai Distrist.</p>
<p>I haven't had a decent masala dosa since 1998!</p>
<p>i came home during the evening tuesday, actually had dinner with my family for the first time in a long time.. :) then i went to my boyfriends house for a bit. yesterday i woke up around 11, went to my boyfriends for a little, then met up with my mom at the mall around 12:30. she needed help picking out a video game for my dad for christmas :), then i head over to the bank to take care of some things, after that i went to hang out with a friend of mine from work. we exchanged gifts, went out to the store, went out for dinner, then hung out at his house till about 11 and i came home. today i am just cleaning up around the house and taking the kids (sister,cousins) to the movies later tonight.</p>
<p>:) </p>
<p>it's nice to be home.</p>