<p>My hunsband is still volunteering with a couple of my son's organizations - Boy Scouts and Science Olympiad. I am trying to get my various hobbies back in gear - as well as reviewing essays for CC kids and some of my son's younger friends. </p>
<p>We have my dad with us - he's pretty much blind and in a wheelchair, so we can't just take off to visit S without a lot of preparation (S may not mind that!). However, we will attend the King Tut exhibit when we pick him up in Chicago this summer, so that will be fun.</p>
<p>Yes, this is a difficult time. I do enjoy our Monday phone calls - most recently his description of his 'best day ever' on the University holiday. The makes it much easier to take!</p>
<p>The thing is with my younger D, who is just 17 and in college, that sometimes too long goes by until she calls (though I know she has a very full schedule day and night but still....). However, when something happens that she wants to share or have me be a part of, she then pulls me into it to share the moment. Such was today. I could wait five days to hear from her and then today she was in touch briefly four times as she was in her first NYC audition on her own, something she dreamt of doing for years (without a parent and all). She called to share each thing that happened, even asking for advice at one point (I'm still needed! yay!). She called in her moment of excitement upon receiving a callback. Another time to talk to dad and then on speaker phone to read comments given by her writing professor today (real positive ones, I mean). Now, she is off to a Broadway show that she has been dying to see for two years. My point is that even though she is far away, she brought me into her exciting experience of her day and wanted to tell me and be a part of it to some degree from afar. Now, if nothing else like that happens this week, I could have to wait five days to hear from her, but that is another story!</p>
<p>Hi, Susan -
I was thinking of you yesterday as I was watching parents watch their Olympic ski racer kids - you must miss that, too. But - lucky you getting 4 calls in one day!</p>
<p>Dig - boy do I understand that feeling as well - being sooo involved while my kiddo was in high school - all the sporting events - 3 varsity sport athlete - the travel - the joy and the tears as well. Tho she does share her adventures and accomplishments with us by phone - frequently LOL - still not the same - at times I feel like she is on the moon - seperated by sooo much distance - sometimes it feels like I have lost a piece of myself - kind of disjointed in a way.</p>
<p>We shared a common love - skiing/snowboarding - and spent alot of time chasing snow flakes and good snow together - special time!!!. Since she has been in college - now her 3rd winter - we have not been able to share that - except for rare occassions when she is home for the short holiday break that she has.</p>
<p>Bingo tho - she will be snowboarding at USCSA nationals - and they are up our way this year - sooooo - we expect a college van to be arriving in our driveway - very early am - for breakfast - showers - naps - after the long haul up this way - and then we do get to see her race and share some of that 'glow' again - just for a bit tho - which in many ways - is bitter sweet for us - as it will probably be the last time we get to experience this - something she loves and enjoys sooo much.</p>
<p>Last week,when S won an election at college, I called 2 parents from his HS crowd. Their children are all doing great at college, so its fun to share good news. I think the commonality between all of us CC parents is that we are cheerleaders for our kids, always backing them, never pushing (except when those applications were due!)</p>
<p>Ohio Mom....the lucky thing for me is that I actually AM able to see my older D's ski races in college because they are in New England and I live in NE. It is further to travel than her HS races but I can do it. This year, I'm doing it every weekend. I'm going to races this Friday and Saturday in fact.
JeepMom....last year I was at USCSA Nationals in Idaho, and only wish I had seen your D because I had told you that I saw all those snowboarders from the bottom, just didn't know which one was yours. I hope to be up at Nationals in Maine this year too but this time it won't be for as many days as it is not as far to travel but we will stay overnight once we find out which day our D is involved (we hope). So, if we end up there the same time as you, we oughta meet up!
Susan</p>
<p>Dig, congratulations on your son's success with the movie. You must be so proud of him! Heck, I'm proud of him! A CC kid, out changing the world! woot-woot!</p>
<p>Digmedia, congratulations on your son's early success! There will surely be many such celebrations in his future and hopefully you CAN be there for some of them. But so great that he called you...</p>
<p>It does seem that a lot of parents of athletes do travel, often cross-country, to attend the games during their student-athletes' seasons. At our S's school/sport, the parents have become a pretty close group who have a few pre-game or during-game parties. I know that the same is true for the parents in other sports at the school. It has been wonderful for us to be local (no sniping from the Geography Police, please), because since we have 3 children, two still at home, we are able to juggle everything (e.g., making sure our two high school children can still get to all of their activities and have our support and presence) and still watch S play. I have literally been at a game, left it to take a daughter to a ballet rehearsal, listened to the radio broadcast of the game en route to and from ballet, and returned in time to watch S play. These continue to be amazing, joyful experiences and I am so grateful that we are able to share them.</p>
<p>Ok. So. D is away, that's true. I miss her, of course. But when I tell people where she is at college, I get a pretty big response that fills that sharing-the-success-and-praise bill pretty handily. And what's great about it all? I know she's thriving and growing, and I DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE HER TO REHEARSALS AND CLASSES ALL THE TIME ANYMORE! Works for me. </p>
<p>And, yes, we do drive down to watch her perform and we keep in touch re the stuff she's doing. Which is a wonderful thing to be able to do. </p>