<p>Ok, so how often do your kids call?<br>
We only dropped him off on Sunday, and he did call once and then leave one voice mail, but we kind of expected him to call last night - after his first football practice and he would have gotten his academic schedule, etc. AND, it was his Dad's birthday. But...no call. :( And, he hasn't gotten his computer set up on the school network yet (thought that was to be yesterday, but I guess not), so we haven't been able to email (although he DID manage to find a way to get on and update his Facebook quick! LOL).</p>
<p>Anyhow...just wondering what everyone's experience with the first few days was.</p>
<p>D has been at school two weeks tomorrow (pre-season sports). For the most part every day at least a quick phone call. The day or two she has not called we take it as a good sign. Everything seems to be going well.</p>
<p>I think boys touch base much less often that girls. When I went to BS my parents were lucky to hear from me once a month. </p>
<p>Thanks...I know...it's just, well weird for lack of a better word, to not have him around and to not be able to talk with him about his day.<br>
We'll adjust...</p>
<p>I have gotten an email every other day. I think she is doing great so I'm not worried - she seems extremely busy. She doesn't have a cell phone and the hall phones have been tied up alot, so we've only gotten one call.</p>
<p>We did get to see her on the weekend when she signed up for a bus trip to a shopping center near our town. We met up with her and shopped for an hour - it was just like how we spent the last few weekends before she left!</p>
<p>It was good to see her in person. Our parents day is still 5 weeks off.</p>
<p>Since his first sleep away camp long time ago, we asked him to call or e-mail everyday. Even just a simple - I'm fine. Bye! </p>
<p>If he has more time, then we chat for few minutes. He has time MSN with friends then should have time to say hello to us. But this time, BS is complete new experience and more busier than camp, I hope we can still keep in tough (even just one simple sentence).</p>
<p>Finally got a quick phone call update. He says he'll call again later in the week. We're heading down Sunday to bring his bicycle and some other things so he'll HAVE to call at least once before then! LOL</p>
<p>I think they keep them pretty busy these first weeks too, so we're finding it hard to find a time to catch him in his room, since we're not supposed to call during study hours, when we know he'd be there. Just got a voicemail from S in response to voicemail that I left, saying "you won't be able to reach me later today because this is the only time I have to call, and I have a ton of homework and soccer tryouts." Oh well....</p>
<p>I think it's true that boys tend to be less communicative than girls. In a little over 2 wks, we've had 2 longish phone calls (the last one 50 mn) and 3-4 practical short ones (where's this or that?), and several text messages. Not enough for me, but better than I expected.</p>
<p>I know this is the parents forum, but nevertheless</p>
<p>I'm a boy, and when the year gets going, I find that it is not that I don't want to call, but I just forget. You're so busy, with sports and schoolwork and friends, that its tough. Which is a good sign, it means your doing a lot. So I end up calling my parents every three or four days, which I think is enough. Not sure what they think though.</p>
<p>Hockeykid845, your input is important and valuable. The reality is that all of us parents know this. We know our kids are fine. We know they have different priorities. In fact that independence is why we sent our kids to BS - either because they already have it or because we felt they need to develop it. So what we do is post and reassure one another that what we're feeling and experiencing is normal.</p>
<p>Linda S, I am finding that my two - both of whom left within six days of one another, each for the first time, creating a brand new and crushingly empty nest - have been pretty good. Since S arrived in his host country where he'll be for the year he has emailed fairly regularly, more than I had dared hope in fact. D has been texting us like crazy and calling periodically, making me realize spouse was right to change her plan to basically unlimited calling and texting (us). </p>
<p>But what I am finding, so far at least, is that the pleasure of contact is sweet and fleeting. I am still despondent over my kids' respective absences. Everyone says it gets better, and you adapt. I am confident I will. But that confidence doesn't offset the suffering I am experiencing right now. Yes, Hockeykid345, even though I know both children are where they need to be and are happy to be there.</p>
<p>they have 30 min at night to call and RM is on phone most of the time. Got her Skype today, so we shall see.
I did find out from her friends here, that her facebook is loaded with pictures and comments.....</p>
<p>He called again tonight and talked to his Dad about football. </p>
<p>Laxtaxi - I can only imagine what you're going through! I feel for you and wish I had some words that would make you feel better. Hopefully you'll be able to come to a game or a visit soon and that will help. </p>
<p>My son hasn't been able to get his computer hooked up to the school's network yet. But I'm sure our contact will be more frequent when he does. We have a Facebook rule in our house - both parents have accounts and are "freinds" with our son. He knows that he we are not "stalking" and that he needs to not say things on there that he wouldn't want adults to "hear" anyway. So, it will be nice to have that once he has internet as I'm sure he'll keep it updated.</p>
<p>Linda-we've had a call each day, but it's just not enough! Hockeykid841 is exactly right! S said today that he is exhausted and that he needs to get used to the schedule. His only complaint was that he couldn't take a shower during study time although he had finished his homework. He did his homework yesterday as soon as he had time, just like he did at home, but he didn't realize that he would have nothing to do during study time!</p>
<p>These first days they go through an incredible change. Imagine if you were plucked from your home and went to live in a new community in which you knew no one, yet you had responsibilities all day and night until you turned off the light! It would be weeks until you got the hang of it and settled in.</p>
<p>We've been through it before and I can honestly say it's worse for my husband than it was for my kids. As long as there's no crying, it's all good!</p>
<p>laxtaxi-my H comes home from work and waits for my son to call. Meanwhile, my son is busy with sports, homework, new friends, meals, shower, etc. When my son finally calls, we get a few words or short answers to questions and then the call is over and we wait till the next day's call. My H and my son were constant companions and did all kinds of hobbies together. Now there's an emptiness and it's too quiet since it's just the two of us. </p>
<p>My D is now in college, but when she went off to board, she was terribly homesick. (there's a helpful homesick thread in CC from last year that was recently resurrected) She was physically ill from it and it took 3 weeks for her to adjust. Thank goodness she is calling my son each day to check on him. Just this evening he said he was feeling a little homesick so I reminded him that he could always call her to talk about it.</p>
<p>This next week will probably be the hardest for all of us, but we all know it's temporary.</p>
<p>Finally got a call that lasted more than 20 seconds. He seems to be doing really well, was walking to the student center after study hall to work out and could hear all kinds of guys in the background.His computer shoudl finally be online today, so we'll hear from him them. I only know that because he's sending us a list of stuff he wants us to bring on Sunday! LOL</p>
<p>We insist that she call us at the very least on Sunday night. Sometimes it's just a word about how she's running off to something or other and that she'll call the next day. But though we email quite a bit, the dh and I still want to hear her voice as we can tell more about her emotional state from that than from all the emoticons in the world! </p>
<p>If your school has a Photo of the Day, check it often for a glimpse of your kid. Seeing him/her looking cheerful and busy can soothe a parent's heart.</p>
<p>I get calls at least twice a day. They are not usually very long (10 minutes max), but we're able to talk about classes, new kids she's meeting, dinner, etc. It makes it a lot easier to deal with having her away.</p>
<p>I'm thrilled that the calls have been positive and that she's having a great time. I'm sure I would get a lot more calls if things weren't okay.</p>
<p>We went to drop off his bicycle and a few other things he needed on Sunday and have not heard from him since. LOL We haven't had even ONE phone call that was 10 minutes long!<br>
He is doing well and they keep him really busy, he's not even updating facebook as much as I thought he would be!<br>
He has a game today that we'll get to, so we are lucky that we can see him often.</p>