<p>G#–I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of your FIL and of you dad’s illness. Glad to hear that he has rallied, at least for now. So, did you get him some scotch?</p>
<p>Keeping you and your family in my thoughts, G#. </p>
<p>Keeping your family in my thoughts, GSharp. Such a difficult time for you. Congrats to your D on her “A!” Nice to have one piece of really good news with all the bad stuff going on now.</p>
<p>Eso - sending PVCs for your S! Hope the job works out for him. </p>
<p>Thinking of you, GSharp, and sending you strength and calm.</p>
<p>Good luck to your S, eso!! Fingers crossed!</p>
<p>G# ditto, TOS, sending strength and peaceful feelings. Congrats on the A thesis.
I hope your DW is doing OK for this time of not-ok -at-all.
Curses on the refrigerator! Not right now!</p>
<p>Don’t know that our DS has finished his thesis… 3.5 weeks until graduation . But in better news, thanks for the PVC, we heard through the grapevine that DS is being considered for an interview so still forward action.</p>
<p>Thinking of you G#! </p>
<p>An idea for those kids looking for a gap-year type job. In California, all you need is a bachelor’s degree and to pass the CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test) and you can substitute teach. The pay isn’t great (maybe $100/day) but if you are studying for the MCAT or whatever it gives you flexibility. </p>
<p>Hello to all the parents of “The College Class of 2014 and beyond”!! I haven’t posted anything here in a long, long time (busy with work, aging parents,etc.- you all know the drill) but the upcoming graduations of D1 (May 25th) and D2 (this Saturday) have made me nostalgic for this group. I just wanted to thank everyone for helping me through “the college years”…even when I didn’t post, I lurked and learned a lot. I can’t believe that it is all just about over. Both Ds have had largely wonderful college experiences, and they both have some promsing irons in the fire for the future. I wish everyone well, parents and graduates alike! </p>
<p>Did he get the scotch? My mother’s said to me shortly after my Dad passed away, “If I’d known he’d only had a few more days to live, I’d have given him the scotch he wanted!” </p>
<p>Anyway, so sorry, it never rains but it pours.</p>
<p>I’m ending this week at home instead of an airport. Alice, you can go home now. 
Back on the road next week. DW has already warned me that next week is when this week will probably hit her hardest.</p>
<p>Thanx to everyone for the kind words for DW and me. They are really appreciated. Note to self… buy scotch or check Dad’s cabinets. ;)</p>
<p>Low point of the week was going to my parents’ house 2 hours after my FIL’s funeral to help my mother fill out the paperwork for hospice care for my dad, ergh! For future reference, I don’t recommend combining those “activities” in the same day. However, both events do bring some level of comfort for everyone involved. FWIW, to add insult to injury, the refrigerator was not delivered until 10:00PM on Wed., so my mother had been awake for 22 hours before they left… I did stay with her until they were gone. </p>
<p>Hero of the Week – I’m going to selfishly nominate my FIL. After all, he left me with the most precious gift possible and I promise to do my best to take care of her.</p>
<p>DW’s cousin (the PhD who is learning to text) and his wife (also a PhD) are professors at a college that gets regular mention on CC and flew to VA to attend my FIL’s service. They will even miss graduation at which one of them was scheduled to receive an award from the university… that’s family dedication.</p>
<p>Jackief – I’m glad to hear that we are not the only bad, non-party parents. I did tell D2 that she could invite some friends to join us for dinner one night which she is going to do, but since all that will be left is seniors and presumably most of their parents will be there, I don’t know if she’ll have any takers.</p>
<p>CD – I guess by now you are well past the 36 hour mark and your patience with S2 may be non-existent. Hang in there! Hopefully, he will make all of his withdrawls from “The Bank” in a timely manner. ;)</p>
<p>Mathmom – Enjoy the reunion. Maybe you should move the venue to Memphis if it is BBQ-centric? Of course, that is completely dependent on one’s definition of BBQ. ;)</p>
<p>RobD – Good to “see” you again! It sounds like D1 has her summer well in hand. Best of luck to D2!</p>
<p>TWINMAMA – Good to “see” you again too! Hopefully those irons will heat up!</p>
<p>Esobay – Sending more PVC to your S for the interview!</p>
<p>In college related news, for those who are interested, we solved the dilemma of how to handle my FIL’s Memorial Service vs. D2’s exam schedule via technology. The funeral home live-streamed the service on-line so that D2 (and my niece who could not make it due to injury) could attend remotely.</p>
<p>In actual college news, D2 is extremely pleased with the results of her thesis and read me some of the “glowing” comments from her advisor and second reader. She turned in her last paper, finished comps, and her last exam this week, so she is officially done. D2 was joking one day recently that every official event at Princeton involves free alcohol. She sent me the email for the ceremony where she picks up her actual diploma at her residential college at which they will be serving champagne with a snarky comment like “More free alcohol.”</p>
<p>GSharp - glad you were able to have your FIL’s memorial service streamed live for your D2 and your niece. </p>
<p>It’s great that your D shared the results of her thesis and the “glowing” comments from her advisor and second reader. 
</p>
<p>Funny about all the official events at Princeton involving free alcohol. I wonder whether that’s true at my D’s school? I’m sure it wouldn’t bother D at all, and to be honest, I wouldn’t object to champagne being served at the house ceremony. </p>
<p>That’s terrible, btw, about your mom’s refrigerator being delivered so late. We once had the gas meter reader show up at close to 11 P.M., but at least that didn’t happen when we were in the midst of family traumas. </p>
<p>I do hope you can get that scotch to your father. </p>
<p>Keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers.</p>
<p>G# - keeping you and your family in my thoughts. In a departure from the usual, I took the whole day off yesterday, rather than waiting for your signal that it’s time to go home. The purpose of the day was to fly to Columbus OH for the National College D-III Ultimate Championships. Instead, I spent most of the day inNewark airport, and the night at my cousin’s apt in Manhattan. This morning I am at Laguardia for take two. PVCs gratefully accepted. </p>
<p>Good to see the rest of you stopping by. Congratulations to all those graduating, those with jobs, internships, grad school admissions, etc. And to their supportive, loving parents. And to those still loving the kid on the couch. Have a great weekend, all. </p>
<p>Coffe’s on me, but only if you are okay with what they’re serving at LaGuardia’s World Bean. </p>
<p>G#, I’m late to post but have been following along. Please accept my deepest sympathy on the loss of your FIL and your father’s situation. So much sadness, all at once.</p>
<p>As I write, D is taking her last undergraduate final. Graduation is next Saturday. I think we are among the latest spring graduation ceremonies, except for those on trimesters. (D’s college is on a 4-1-4 schedule, so spring term started Feb 1).</p>
<p>I won’t deny G#m7, FIL Hero of the week status, but I will put in for an honorable mention for G#M7 for getting through a really really bad couple of days.</p>
<p>G#M7 I am glad you thought of technologiy solutions for streaming the service. My cousin did that for my aunt’s funeral and it was two way so the grandson in Scotland got to speak and showed up on the screen in the church. </p>
<p>Something to keep in mind for all events like weddings too!</p>
<p>DS is in Calaveras County at the Jumping Frog Fair a la Mark Twain. Is his thesis done? IDK…</p>
<p>Congrats lafalum84 for the upcoming graduation celebration!</p>
<p>alice, thank goodness for sofa surfing. Beats the airprt lounge. </p>
<p>Smooth skies and roads for our warriors and families traveling. An old friend’s DD (graduation next weekend as well) just was in a car wreck, she is OK but the car is totaled. Wasn’t her fault, multi-car mashup on the freeway, she was one of the accordion cars. Parents will go early to graduation to deal with it, and in context are glad to be doing that. </p>
<p>One graduation down, one to go! D2 graduated from Wheaton (MA) on Saturday. The ceremony was moved into the fieldhouse due to the forecast of heavy rain, but by the time it was over the skies had cleared and we were able to have our picnic lunch out in the sunshine. It was a wonderful day, very emotional for this mama! Now it’s on to D1’s graduation from Hamilton next Sunday…upstate New York, here we come. Congratulations to all who have graduated or will graduate/ attend graduations in the near future. G#, my condolences to you and your family- what a tough time for all of you!</p>
<p>Twinmama–so glad the colleges had different weeks for graduation so you could enjoy them both! Hopefully the weather will cooperate for graduation #2! How exciting for you and your family.</p>
<p>G#- When you get to campus for the graduation activities if you get to see P-rade, look for the handsome ROTC student marching with the class of '44. I believe they will be a color guard, but I’m not quite sure. I’m glad DS is getting to stay for the activities this year! Enjoy graduation and congrats to your DD- I’m sure she will suffer through all that free alcohol! ;)</p>
<p>DS2 graduated yesterday! Great to see all the family. Afterwards we went to nephew’s apartment and played one of those overly complicated board games my kids like to play. This came with a sound track and involved aliens and objects bent on destroying our space ship.</p>
<p>My S graduated this weekend. Both grandmothers also came, which was good, but added to my stress level in terms of trying to coordinate everyone. Plus, we helped S move locally. He will stay at Wash U over the summer to work on campus, and then he heads off to law school in the fall.</p>
<p>VA Mom, several times last weekend I found myself thinking “Thank goodness these 2 graduations were not on the same weekend 200 miles apart”…I think I would have come completely unglued!</p>
<p>continued thoughts to the whole G# family.</p>
<p>Congrats to the graduates! I know there have been threats of rain in places, I have loved seeing several of my firend’s kids grad photos on facebook, it is nice to see the differences in cap/gowns etc. Looking forward to D’s, which is … less than a month away! 
She has her final sports competition as a student this weekend, then that chapter closes.</p>
<p>Think its time to bring back the cool dudes for a bit. I think cc missed the boat when they added the new emoticons (yeah I know it is the bboard vendor, not cc) and neglected to have the smiley in a motarboard
B-) B-) </p>
<p>and I think there was also a request for some FREE ALCOHOL, let’s see if this markup still works (edit, it seems to work except for the size, I guess we only get little drinks unless someone knows how to do a size=+2 or similar)
Y Y Y Y Y Y</p>
<p>Yes, we definitely need a smug mortarboard-wearing smiley! Yay for all the graduates! :)</p>
<p>I haven’t been on here in a while (342 notifications??? No way) but wanted to check in. </p>
<p>Condolences to G#'s family on a tough week. May it only get better from here on out.</p>
<p>Our neighbor’s son graduated, had a party, and is moving to his new city/job today. It’s the end of an era since we watched this kid grow up with our son.</p>
<p>Our S is not graduating but has been asked to sing Hatikvah & the Star Spangled Banner at a local org’s annual meeting. They evidently needed a STUDENT who was still in town, and he qualified.</p>
<p>Please keep our friend in your prayers–a Brandeis professor who collapsed at his daughter’s graduation and is in critical condition in hospital in New Haven. </p>