<p>I just watched D drive away. It is so bittersweet. I am so happy and proud of the young lady she has become and I know that UGA is where she is supposed to be and so excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead. I’ve spent the last few days trying not to be sad. A friend of mine said that when her first kid left for college she was reminded (by her youngest son) that this is what we as parents plan for from the moment they are born. That we raise them and give them what they need so that they will be able to leave home one day. That truly put things in perspective for me. I made it through the good byes with no tears only because I know I will see her again on Tuesday for the official move-in and good bye. My youngest D followed the car down the street for a bit…I think she has been too scared to admit that she it going to miss her big sister :-).</p>
<p>Happy launching day gamomof3! Congratulations on making it through with no tears!! I hope you have something nice planned for the evening to soothe you. This is what we raise them for…we just panic when we actually succeed :eek:!! Hugs to you.</p>
<p>wow gamom, good job on the tear-less goodbye 
Our launching day is in 2 weeks and I am starting to freak out a little bit!</p>
<p>Gamom: Sending hugs your way! You are smart to remember that it’s our job as parents to prepare our kids to leave us and venture out into the world. It’s still tough on us, however. It’s a big adjustment for the whole family. When D1 left, it took us a while to get used to being a family of 3 instead of 4. D2 hated all the attention at first, but grew to like it after a while.</p>
<p>Another congrats for gamom on reaching this point. May you and your family go from strength to strength.</p>
<p>And with that…we’re off! The above applies to each and every one of us at some point over the next few weeks. Go team!</p>
<p>Not fair GAmom…I’ve got tears for you. Oh no. I’m going to be a MESS in a few weeks. My DH talks about his Bulldog days all the time. He’s so relieved DS didn’t go to Tech (just kidding).</p>
<p>DS continues to surprise us. Yesterday he negotiated Sprint discount on his own. Today we went to the museum to see a special exhibit of costumes from movies/TV (Star Wars, Spiderman, etc). To my shock, DS and friend continued touring ALL the permanent ART collections in the museum. We were there for hours. He actually was interested. Ya coulda blown me over. DH didn’t grumble either. What’s next, opera?</p>
<p>Playing on his new sense of maturity, I gave DS chore of figuring out Thanksgiving flights. We got a JetBlue Amex card 6 weeks ago. The signup 20K miles just posted. Six weeks ago I could have ‘purchased’ RT tix with that many points. Now I need 50K points for the same flights. I’m having DS decide which days/times he’ll fly. Dorms are open entire time and they are off for a full week so there is flexibility. Let’s see how he does with this.</p>
<p>^ FlMathMom - Be careful not to say anything outloud about Mathson’s newfound maturity. He may decide to revert just to spite you! ;)</p>
<p>Flmathmom: My D has shown some suprising maturity lately also. Today she said that she and some friends were going take the metro into DC. I assumed that they would go shopping in Georgetown, but they went and walked around the monuments. No art museums, however. </p>
<p>Sorry about the increase in Thanksgiving flights. We booked D’s and they weren’t too bad. At the moment, we have a choice of 3 airlines flying from BWI to Boston. Once AT and Southwest merge, it will be 2. I think that the BWI market is one of the few that’s not excited about this merger.</p>
<p>LOL Blue!</p>
<p>Congrats GAMom on making it through the goodbye’s tearless. </p>
<p>I’ll be one of the parents doing cartwheels in the parking lot.</p>
<p>Slight change of topic…have a question. Are any of you dealing with “left behind” girlfriends? My DS has been with gf about 1.5 years…they are in love but have no defined future plans. DS has never told me he was in love with a girl, so consider it serious. </p>
<p>DS was admitted to many colleges, some local, others across the country. His 2 favs were both across country and he chose one of them. Now girlfriend seems mad that he made that choice and won’t discuss college with him or us. Am concerned DS will not throw his heart into college in the fall…DS says he’ll be fine but she is very important to him. </p>
<p>Just wonder how to deal/handle this…am staying neutral so far but it kills me that she isn’t excited/supportive. She is a rising Senior in HS with NO plans of going to college across country.</p>
<p>Yay for the successful launch Gamom! I have hopes for something similar, but doubts that it will happen. I would just like to turn the corner before i cry. :(</p>
<p>capenn, I have a few worries about my son and his GF. They started dating early in sophomore year and have been together ever since. And as we all know, anything over a year in HS is For-evah! Both put aside any relationship concerns when looking for their colleges but ended up choosing ones 8 hours apart. I would prefer that they both allow each other to date, but so far there is zero talk of that. Frankly, I try not to think about it too much and hope that whatever happens doesn’t hurt too much.</p>
<p>Gamom - congrats on launch! In some ways can’t wait for this to happen for us…</p>
<p>gamomof3, congratulations! </p>
<p>I’m shifting between being excited and impatient for DS’s late, late, late move-in at Southern Oregon and feeling a little panicked that the days keep counting down. Ack!</p>
<p>gamom- well done on the tears front. D1 leaves Monday and I am hoping I can hold back the tears. We move her into dorms on Wed.</p>
<p>Kath and Capenn: I have some worries about my D and her BF. They’ve been dating over a year. He’s going to school locally and she’ll be 8 hours away. Months ago she said that they would break up before she leaves for college, but I see no indication of that at this point. I hope that they break up so she can start college without the attachement, but I’m keeping my mouth shut.</p>
<p>My D has dated the same young man off and on for 3 years. He is a rising Jr. at a state college a half hour away and lives at home with his parents. My D will be going 16 hours away. Neither kid has talked of breaking up, though the young man’s mom told me at D’s graduation that she told her son to be aware that my D would find other young men to date while she was away.</p>
<p>Young man’s mom is my daughter’s GS leader, so knows my D pretty well, just wish my D knew herself that well so she could be honest with the young man.</p>
<p>momjr, ShawD has a good time shopping in Boston and Cambridge. Some stores she window shops (“they had a t-shirt that looked great on me but it was $63 so I just left it there” and others that she where she also buys stuff. </p>
<p>fogfog, in ShawSon’s orientation week, the RA had C@nd@ms and chocolate parties. We didn’t supply, but I don’t think it would be a bad idea to supply them. (Message: use contraceptives and treat your partners with respect). I think it makes even more sense to make sure the daughters’ are equipped with contraception too as girls bear the consequences disproportionately.</p>
<p>I think I’m primarily posting to move this thread back to the front page! We are here at the family reunion in West Virginia. So far, so good. No family drama. Beautiful accomodations with four families in each “manor house.” Our rooms are all private but all open up onto a living room/dining room/kitchen. Deer right outside our front door. </p>
<p>Going swimming this morning with the grandbaby.</p>
<p>Enjoy that cool mt air OWM! Let it soothe your spirit and quiet the noise of competitive relatives. 
Hugs!</p>
<p>Good Morning all,</p>
<p>Gamom~Congrats on a successful launch, sending hugs your way.</p>
<p>OWM~so glad you are having a grand time , enjoy the grandbaby :)</p>
<p>S1 & GF 18 months HS relationship did not survive the college move. I was upset, but a cc friend made me realized that it was better to split at the beginning of the semester.It allowed S1 to get involved in his school, instead of spending time in his dorm on skype trying to make it work!</p>
<p>S2 learned from it and did not allow himself to get emotionally involved with anyone his senior “Mom, no point to this…i am going away” :D</p>
<p>S1 is turning 20 today, big family day!</p>
<p>Cheers to all, </p>
<p>:cool:</p>