<p>I’m tired by 8:00 these days. (i.e. every day.) I-) </p>
<p>Ay yi yi! I just spent a chunk of the day setting up a tracking spreadsheet for my DS’s high school applications. I’m stating for the record that I’m not doing this for DD’s college applications next year. An 18 year-old girl who has spent her high school years at boarding school can do this for herself…and if not, we’ve probably wasted a large amount of tuition money!</p>
<p>Now there’s app - Naviance for boarding schools (college have Naviance spreadsheets, as my senior is discovering)</p>
<p>I’m using a healthcare app called Care Zone. It’s designed for medical caregivers (e.g. if you have a parent, child, etc whose care you’re tracking) and it works great for that purpose. However, since it’s basically a project management app it works great for high school applications too.</p>
<p>I love this tee-shirt I recently saw:</p>
<p>Itired
There’s a nap for that</p>
<p>How are all the new BS Moms and Dads holding up? </p>
<p>@PhotographerMom - dropped off DS today. Move in was easy, orientation ( both parent and student) was great, no complaints whatsoever. A few tears when leaving, but so very excited for DS and what lies ahead!</p>
<p>We dropped off yesterday and it went well. There weren’t any tears because DS walked out for his orientation without saying goodbye! I think that he was feeling as though he just needed to get going. Fortunately we live somewhat close and I will be there this weekend to do some education on the use of washing machines.</p>
<p>We dropped off last week and only tears were from parents. Have since heard from advisor that DC is a little homesick and experiencing anxiety about making friends and the like. And that our attempts to communicate with DC are only making the homesickness worse. So now we sit and suffer silently knowing objectively that things will get better, but subjectively feeling horrible that we ever allowed DC to leave home! So time for us to practice what we preach about the virtues of patience…</p>
<p>That would be so difficult, knowing that your child is suffering and having to sit back. I would have a very heavy heart!</p>
<p>Yes. Heart feels like it’s full of lead.</p>
<p>I’ll fess up that I have been having some trouble adjusting to empty-nest-hood.</p>
<p>I definitely communicated with my younger girl a bit too much her first week (pre-season)…so much so that she told her mom that I was over doing it! That was a splash of cold water in my face! ;-P</p>
<p>Happy to report that two weeks in, I’m reaching an equilibrium of sorts…and truly appreciating the lack of running around needed on a day-to-day basis (between school and sports). House is cleaner, less cluttered, and the weekly grocery and gas bills are much smaller.</p>
<p>Thoughts go out to EJMDAD and any other parents wrestling with mixed emotions at this time of transition. If it’s any consolation, know that even relatively experienced BS parents like myself are having a tough time too.</p>
<p>@EJMDAD - sorry to hear that DC is feeling some anxiety. I’m sure it will be short lived. I felt comfortable leaving DS yesterday knowing that so many adults at his new school are looking out for the kids on all sorts of levels, I.e. academically, socially, emotionally… It’s great that your DC’s advisor is communicating with you and keeping you in the loop. Hoping in the not too distant future this chapter will be behind you!</p>
<p>Thanks all. Your kind words are appreciated, and yes SevenDad it is a huge consolation to know experienced BS parents go through some of this too.</p>
<p>My son is WAY too happy. :-)</p>
<p>I dropped my daughter off for the first time this weekend. She disappeared with some kids after lunch and we had to call her cell phone to find her so we could say goodbye! Obviously she was fine. I was fine leaving her at school but I got sad when I returned home and she wasn’t there. I’m trying to figure out the right times to text or call and how often is appropriate.</p>
<p>S started his final year of BS today. He’s very far away from home and we wont see him until Dec. break. I should be getting used to this by now but it’s still difficult. Looking on the bright side is at least we will all be very experienced by the time we drop them off at college. Good luck to all the new BS parents here. I’m wishing your children a wonderful and fulfilling experience.</p>
<p>My daughter’s been gone 10 days. The first week was amazing. It was orientation and she had the greatest time, everything we heard from her was so positive. It was so exciting! But …now she’s getting the homesick blues and classes/work jobs have started. I know she can handle it but it’s tough. So many new faces and new spaces and …at the end of the day, her own expectations of herself. I’m texting all kinds of support for now… but I figure in a week or so she’ll have a routine and this will be something we laugh about. Chance me? heh ehhe</p>
<p>One thing that I wanted to share is that at SAS, they recommend a 2 week “no call” window to help both sides transition. I wish I had followed that advice for my girl who’s not at SAS!</p>
<p>I just got back from dropping my daughter for her 2nd year.</p>
<p>It’s funny… when I left her I got the impression she was going to miss me more this year. Last year - nothing, not even a look back. The “loss” was all on my side. So I was surprised to find that she hugged me for a long time and was kind in front of friends (vs. the nerves-driven dirty looks of last year… LOL). I, on the other hand, felt quite good about leaving her. Don’t get me wrong: I miss her terribly. But, there is just not the anxiety for us this year. I know she loves it and is in a good place. @sevendad I suspect that even though you are “old hat” at this BS gig, this is the very first time you have had the empty nest to go with it and, as they say, this too shall pass.</p>
<p>For newbies: it does get easier. I agree about limiting contact the first week or two. Let the kids dictate the contact (to some extent). I found this EXTREMELY hard. Not only was I struggling with an empty nest, but I was 900 miles away and, if I am honest, a bit jealous that she was having all this new experience without me. But that does fade over time. </p>
<p>Some schools seem to be better about giving you a run down of daily events/schedules, but I suspect they all like to keep that sort of information between them and the kids – not to exclude you, but so that the kids start to become more independent and proactive – surely that is one of the points of boarding school? </p>
<p>Good luck to you all. Remember CC is here so that you can commiserate, and the school websites can be “stalked” hoping to see a glimpse of your kid. If you do manage a sighting, I am guessing that the photo will be of a huge smile! </p>