<p>Well I colored my hair today - will have to do it again though. Graduation is in 3+ weeks.
Made a dent in the margarita supply as both kiddies were gone this weekend and H and I tried out emptynesting. Guess what? We like it! We really like it!!</p>
<p>Graduation - still have weeks to go here before we get to it. Not till the end of June. Senior Ball was last night. All looked wonderful. D (and I) are trying to catch up on our sleep. They did the ball thing and then went to a āRelay for Lifeā cancer benefit with me as the āadultā in the group. Got back to the house after 5AM and then slept until one mother called at 8. Way to early to wake up!!.</p>
<p>Finished grad slideshow today. My face is puffy, eyes and nose red and swollen. I am glad I still have a week before party but will be out of town for two days this week. It is really hitting home. D2 snuggled up on couch to watch video and gave her final approval on DVDā¦a nice big hug and thank you. Made me cry even harder. sighā¦</p>
<p>Went to a few grad parties this weekendā¦the breakfast/brunch one had about 175 people go through over 3 hour period. The Taco bar one on Saturday night served over 250. I am getting nervous!</p>
<p>Wow Northminn to the parties. We went to a friendās for an immediate post-grad (different HS from ours) lunch, but it was just the fam and two friendsā families; then on to a colege graduation cake and cosmos partyāmostly for the parents o celebrate the end of all three of their kidsācollege years (i.e. tuition free!) </p>
<p>Weāll have family here for a casual dinner before graduation on the 10th; other than that no party here. So far Iāve gotten good reviews on the grad gifts weāve given, which Iām proud of! Itās a miracle they all were finished, and well in advance of each schoolās graduationāyippeeāSOMETHING I got done! Now thereās the house. inlaws arrive in T minus 9 days!!!</p>
<p>What a busy time of year for all! what great celebrations! </p>
<p>The HS wrapped up its musical today (5 performances ā they got better each time I think). Iām sorry itās over; so much fun to watch all that energy and exuberance ā amazing sets, costumes, dances; but wow, weāre all drainedā¦ D is off at cast party, and says will come home early to do homework ā¦ right.</p>
<p>3 weeks still til graduation, but no parties here ā we are also cashing in frequent flyer miles and going away for a week ā to celebrate one college and one HS graduation this year. With D1 getting married next summer, that seemed to warrant one last trip together.</p>
<p>In the meantime, we just found out that my dad (80 years) needs surgery for cancer which has recurred after ten years absence. Weāre hoping heāll make Dās graduation in a few weeks, but probably he wonāt. Itās very sobering in the midst of all the hooplah. But heās a trooper and takes it all in stride ā his courage really makes it possible for us all to have courage too.</p>
<p>congrats on great perfromances ,sorry about your dad. My mom got really sick and couldnāt come to graduation. We missed her. great idea to run away. you deserve it.</p>
<p>laundry lessons
shoot- there is no laundromat in this town. Gotta drive 25 miles, but it must be done.
These are life lessons that must be learned.</p>
<p>Heck we used a laundromat for a good 10 years before we were in a place with a washing machine. He needs to know the tricks of the trade.</p>
<p>One ālastā today. Final voice recital. He sang a beautiful jazz ballad with his Dad accompaning on jazz guitar. It was lovely.</p>
<p>Final choir concert is Tuesday. Awards ceremony Wednesday. Senior check out Thursday. Graduation rehearsal and senior trip Friday. Graduation Saturday. Senior Sober into Sunday. </p>
<p>and <em>my</em> ālastā was I told S he will no longer hear any urging from me. (I have done my part - he will walk with his class). If he does not do his final bio lab or finish his Spanish or do an additional paper to get his English up to a B and his GPA is so hideous that the school takes his scholarships away - we told him he will not be going to college in the fall. The ball is in his court. And if this is how it happens, I am OK with that. It means he is not ready. He has the time now to get this stuff done, and if he doesnāt, he is not going to make it at school - so I may be a poser in the class of 2013 thread - but hopefully not.</p>
<p>Meanwhile I am trying to get <em>my</em> painting āfinalā done. eek. I am behind this term. But I will catch up. My kid did not inherit his get-it-all-done-at-the-last-minute genes from nowhere.</p>
<p>Cpeltz, I think I am finally there! It is what it isā¦</p>
<p>Z
best wishes for your Dad. So hardā¦</p>
<p>Zetesis - Congrats on the final performances but am so sorry to hear about your dad. Torn between the 2 generationsā¦</p>
<p>I better dye my hair before the graduation in 19 daysā¦</p>
<p>Z, sorry to hear about your Dad-my Dad just hit my mini-van when we were on a trip for a Dās college graduation. I didnāt even get mad, I think I was surprised at myself. His foot slipped off the brake & hit the accelerator & then hit us, we were at a stop sign. He evidently will pay for it, we havenāt fixed it yet. Makes me wonder about his driving at age 84ā¦ We all face that with aging parents.</p>
<h1>TM- Iāve said it before and Iāll say it again. There are worse things than taking a year off or even deferring for a year. I know that in a lot of schools itās not common, but I honestly wish we had pushed for this with our older Daughter. Feeling overwhelmed at college and us being so far away to not see it was not a good situation in the least. It affected her self-identity to the point where she has had to suffer through a lot more than merely deciding when to go back to school. And the truth is, in a yearās time they barely associated with all but a few of their former classmates and in 10, will it matter if they graduated in 2013 or 2014. For some, the 13 would be unlikely enough (unless you go to Colgate). I am just saying. part of me might lean more towards, we will defer for a year and take a class or two at CC and/or do something else. Even for just a semester. Every time I think of the big tuition we spent and lost, I cringe.</h1>
<p>My friendās D is having a gap year. They say she is too stressed. it could be financial. not sure. she is excited and looking forward to it. Some kids at my Dās school are going to try for hockey, one I believe is undecided. it really is hard, I hope it all works out and the best decision is made.</p>
<p>D2 came in and plopped on our bed last night and started worrying about wedding plans ā¦ I need a gap year!</p>
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<p>Yikes! Parental overload! Time to pour a drink and watch the *Americaās Next Top Model *marathon (or your choice of insipid TV).</p>
<p>Is everyone 100 percent excited about where their kid is going to school next year?</p>
<p>I have been senior slumping tooā¦ graduation is still two weeks away. This week is going to be a long one. Awards ceremonies at both the HS and MS (only one twin is getting an award - that should be fun) three nights of the middle school drama production and the cast party here on Friday. Weāll have to miss the field hockey game of twin B during the cast party. Plus, weāre missing the Sports Banquet tonight since DS is getting his wisdom teeth out this morning. </p>
<p>But prom was lovely this weekendā¦ and so far I havenāt lost my temper with the bossy control freak with whom we are co-hosting the grad party.</p>
<p>Just made airline reservations for D to come home in August, after Summer term. I purchased round-trip from Orlando to Atlantic City and back. Got a good deal on it. </p>
<p>Starting to check out flights to Orlando for Parents Weekend in October. Anyone else planning on Parents Weekend at your S or Dās school?</p>
<p>We are. Weāve got plane tickets & hotel reservationsā¦</p>
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</p>
<p>as in 100% happy with their choice?</p>
<p>Personally I think it is the exact right fit for #TMSon, but the 100% thrill is modified by the distance and the expense. He is who he is and there is nothing that could make him the kid who would have fallen in love with the tiny LAC close to home that gave him scads of money.</p>
<p>Moda, I agree, a gap year has its appeal. S is set on going, so he is going to have to pull off the decent GPA and not get his scholarships rescinded. He will NOT be going if they get yanked.</p>
<p>Weāll continue to try to play out some gap year scenarios, but we have to have something for him to do that year and the pickinās are slim around here and most gap āprogramsā cost as much as a year in college.</p>
<p>At this point he can make this decsion himself by raising his grades (he can do that because the outstanding projects are big ones and have a big effect on his final grade inthe class - even being marked down for late). </p>
<p>My job was to ensure he got to walk with his class. There is no doubt he will graduate (with the most incredible hodge-podge of grades!) and he has been spared that embarassment and life-altering experience of being talked about forever as the kid who was the smartest math student they have ever had but couldnāt graduate on time. </p>
<p>The rest we can handle however the chips may fall. This group of cyber parents has been a godsend to me. Not one adult around here understands what I am going through with this. Not a one has had anything but a ānormalā kid who got decent grades, played a sport well and aspired to nothing much (most of these kids are happy though, so I am not being disparaging)</p>
<p>Life is different with a ādifferentā kid.</p>
<p>downtoearth: I am excited for both of my girls but have to admit that I am disappointed that they chose the same campus. In my fantasy they were on campuses close enough for a weekend visit but far enough apart so that people didnāt know they were twins. </p>
<p>I also think that one of my Dās would have found the higher degree of intellectualism at a couple of the more selective schools she was accepted to more motivating and enriching than the campus she chose but maybe (actually, in all likelihood) thatās just me wanting it for me.</p>
<p>It will turn out. They wonāt be in the same dorm and are unlikely to be sharing any classes. But still, I just wanted for them that individuality that non-twins get by default.</p>
<h1>theory, excellent post. So glad we could be here for you.</h1>
<p>crm86 special hugs to you and your twins. It can rob some of the joy from the recipient and the parent when only one is honored but I know that is the way it sometimes goes.</p>