<p>And it was pelting rain at 10am this morning. One dad was wearing a large garbage bag and slogging stoically back and forth to his van, loading it with boxes. I don’t mean just that it was raining–it was raining puppies and kitties out of a leaden sky, with a cold wind. There was a peculiar sense of the party being over…the “free box” overflowed to the point that unwanted items littered the entry and front room like detritus after a storm. Everybody just wanted to be done, to get out…and it was raining hard. That’s what Smith was like today, for whomever it was that asked.</p>
<p>None of the Smithies had had more than a few hours’ sleep within the past few days, so they were floating around, anchored by their parents. I was surprised that there weren’t more parents present, actually. I only noticed about half a dozen during my time there. Many students appeared to manage on their own. I heard that some students took their exams early and then left–I suspect that a substantial proportion had gone by the time I arrived. This is a really good idea. Leaving virtuously early would enhance the general elation of finishing. We were done on time but didn’t actually depart until after my D had returned keys to Clark Hall, around 1030. At that time, people were still moving out, not enjoying it. On my last trip upstairs I had noticed at least one room still messy, inhabited, not in transition–I had a vague sense that they were somehow not managing to do what everyone else was engaged in. I wonder what was going on there, and how the inhabitants will manage.</p>
<p>Prairie, if it makes you feel better, the inhabited room probably belonged to a senior, an athlete who made playoffs, a student with a five-college exam (some of the other colleges finish finals later than Smith), or someone else with permission to stay (some houses are used for reunion participants/workers, or summer housing).</p>
<p>condolences to all who had to move in the rain…not fun!</p>
<p>Thanks, Stacy. I’m relieved to know that the situation was probably ok. Some Anthropology major might investigate the Smith end of year move-out as a micro-cultural event that crystallizes values and behaviors specific to Smith. Participating in it this year for the first time gives me a sense of the place, of its symbolic life and consciousness, that I hadn’t had before: its esthetic of elevated, almost metaphysical loveliness; the immediacy of physical and intellectual proficiency in daily life; the tempo of its highs and lows. The move-out was a long performance of all this.</p>
<p>Prairie - I completely agree with the fact that there should be a full day added between exams and moving. I also love your soviet era woman reference - I picture you witha babushka and burley arms 
My husband had the same experience - D with no sleep, no time to prep etc plus he ended up ferrying some of her friends to the bus due to the pouring rain, fetching food etc. Altogether it took 6 hours to pack our van and he did most of it himself (I was home shuttling YD to classes) since when our D got home she went to pet at 5pm and was wearing what I can only guess where her last pair of cleanish clothes. Of course from looking at the number of bags of clothes in our hallway I wonder if she didn’t just tell us she was going to class but was secretly a buyer for H&M.
Well now on to the transition although aside from finalizing job and volunteer work details I think the first week will mostly involve sleeping.</p>
<p>This thread reminds me of the year Haven was to be renovated. We had a strict 10 am move time (for everyone, including seniors - they were moving into Wesley for the week) because plans for the renovation began that day (they had already moved out our laundry machines!). I get to Cutter, where I am to live for the next two weeks - only to find someone who had definitely not moved out yet. I unloaded all my stuff outside the room, then went downstairs with a book and waited.</p>
<p>I felt sorry for D as we live half-way across the country from Smith and had no plans to help her with the move-out. She had multiple nights with little sleep and had a plane she had to catch early on Friday. I don’t know if she managed to clear everything out, but I’m hoping there weren’t any big messes she left behind. </p>
<p>She flew off to visit a friend for a week and sent a frustrated message saying that she had lost her phone while rushing out the door to the shuttle. I’m hoping she is catching up on her sleep, so she can enjoy her visit. It will be great to have her back home and hopefully she’ll have a chance to regain her equilibrium before too long.</p>
<p>My D has the phone and will mail it to her! Your friends in NY.</p>
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<p>This is College Confidential at its most amazing!</p>
<p>I just moved out of my house for the first time. It was not nearly as bad as I expected, though it may have helped that I was the only one moving out at the time (due to extended housing, though that also meant no one was around to help me carry stuff). I packed everything on Saturday except for the bare necessities, which took maybe 2-3 hours, not bad. Then this morning I biked downtown to where I am living for the summer, borrowed a car, and brought that back up to my house. The process of getting everything to the car took maybe 45 minutes (including last minute packing). Everything fit into the car fine, which was very nice considering I had all of my hockey gear on top of everything else! Once everything was packed, I had to run a few errands around campus (parked the car illegally a total of 5 times, but no ticket thankfully).</p>
<p>Overall, it went very smoothly and took a lot less time than I expected.</p>
<p>Thanks akebias! I’m thankful she has so many helpful, understanding friends who helped her through this crazy time!</p>
<p>McPucks, glad it went smoothly for you. You were blessed today, as were we on Friday, with delightful sunny weather. Lousy cold pelting rain can make the whole process miserable. I really am sorry it was so awful Saturday for everyone who had to move out. My daughter, who’s living in Cutter while staying to work commencement and reunion, moved into Cutter Saturday and helped a number of Baldwin friends deal with various moving crises.</p>
<p>Tomorrow is the second installment with twins in college: I drive six hours out to western NY to pick up my son at Hobart (and Burmese friend who’s flying out of Providence) with all their stuff and I haven’t even emptied the van yet of all its Smith paraphernalia! Guess I know what I’m doing this afternoon! For those wishing there were a bit of a breather between the last exam and room evacuation, I agree. My son likewise has an exam Tuesday night and he has to be out of his room by about Wednesday noon, so we’re going to sneak in some packing after his exam, finish up Wednesday and drive home. It all sounds so effortless! :)</p>
<p>I just looked at the forecast for Geneva, NY for the next couple of days. I’m going to experience on Tuesday night and Wednesday what everyone at Smith had on Saturday–cold rain! I had a feeling my luck was going to run out! :)</p>
<p>Carolyn at least you won’t have snow like my friend at U Rochester!!</p>
<p>Overwhelmedma, apparently it snowed yesterday as my son was going to his first final!</p>
<p>Something to bear in mind if people complain about Northampton being cold!</p>
<p>Hooray, I’m back from Hobart with my son (and his Burmese friend). Boy, that’s a long drive! The 1- 1/2 hours out to Smith is a piece of cake.</p>