<p>Our well planned ‘stop, drop, and roll’ launching has just gotten more complicated for Saturday. Bluejr’s roommate is flying in without his parents and had asked if we could get him to the local BB&B to pick up things he has ordered from home. No problem! We’re happy to help and hope someone would do the same for our kids. We’ll be there before the 8am check in. They have a 4pm meeting with their RA, dinner, then a concert. It’s clear parents need to leave before then. Plenty of time to get moved in, run to the store, say goodbye, and be out of the way…right? Wrong. The roommate doesn’t fly in until THREE!! I have no idea what his parents were thinking. He won’t even make it to campus by the meeting with the RA. Bluejr will go to the meeting on the hall. I guess we will simply wait for the roommate and take him to BB&B and get him back as quickly as possible for the dinner and concert? They have activities stacked solid all night. Luckily we don’t have a long drive, but here’s the rub…I will have already said goodbye to my son…more than likely I’m going to be a mess crying. I really wanted to get in the car and let DH take me home. Now I have to try to keep it together for God knows how long to get the roommate taken care of. I don’t want to meet the roommate with tears in my eyes…poor kid is going to feel awkward enough as he won’t have even met our son yet!</p>
<p>I don’t want to sound like I don’t want to help the roommate, that’s not it at all…I just wish he was flying in earlier from a two hour flight. We’ll work out whatever, it’s not his fault. Nothing is ever easy, right?!?</p>
<p>@samuck - definitely flat out, then, eh? Good luck with all your many, many orbits. </p>
<p>As mentioned somewhere upthread, I’d hoped you’d been spared some of the direct implications of the London unrest; it will be interesting to see what happens. (@fogfog, some of the most interesting discussion about the possible bases for the unrest that I’ve read is at [London</a> riots: no single event for riots with a single meaning | Crikey](<a href=“People feel like they've got a stake through their heart”>People feel like they've got a stake through their heart).)</p>
<p>No Vegemite is making the trek with our D and, with greatest respect, I suspect that from the descriptions Heinz’s Salad Cream won’t be on her list of things-still-to-be-acquired-in-the-U.S.! (No accounting for taste, yes?)</p>
<p>Our D’s send-off party went well on Sunday. Howsoever reluctantly, now we’re down to the serious packing. My family heads for the States on Thursday. It’s a fine time and an incomparably heartrending and sentimental time, too. Again, best regards to all parents and their families. ‘See you’ on the other side!</p>
yikes, I forgot to put snacks on the list of stuff to pick up at drop off. </p>
<p>BI - what a nice Mom (and Dad) you are! I agree “what were the roommates parents thinking?” I think they weren’t because they weren’t gong to be there. Can you ask him to prepay for the BBB stuff and pick it up earlier?</p>
<p>I am so impressed that S has not spent a cent in one week. Of course, if he had done more of that all summer he would be going to school with a nice sizable bank account. OTOT, I see a box of cereal and microwave popcorn in the back seat of his car. He told me, that is his lunch.</p>
<p>I’ve spent the past few days trying to catch up on this thread. Glad to hear the good news about PHB’s daughter and our first launchees.</p>
<p>We’ve had a rough few days. My D landed in the hospital on Saturday with breathing problems. She has been coughing for months and nothing the pediatrician tried stopped the cough. Today she saw a specialist who scheduled a procedure for tomorrow that should confirm a diagnosis. Luckily, she doesn’t move in until 8/29 and the doctor thinks she will be fine by then. This certainly puts worrying about comforter colors and mattress pads into perspective.</p>
<p>momjr: Let us know how your D is doing! My D has struggled with lung/breathing problems for 4 years and has been hospitalized multiple times for it. Coughing can be an indicator of many different things. </p>
<p>Depending on your D’s dx, maybe my D and I can be resources for you. Please PM me if you want to.</p>
<p>Right, weetbixmum, that is what we have been reading too. Quite sad…
Seems very much about “opportunity” and the “fun” and so on…
we are sad for those in London whom have been affected by this ridiculousness…</p>
<p>BlueI–You are amazing!!! I agree–that if the roommate can pre-pay and leave your name to pick it up–you’d be better off…and would be doing an airport transfer…Gosh knows how much luggage is to be hauled… Quite the imposition really. What were they thinking AND what if you couldn’t have done it/had a flight??? you need a BLUE ribbon for this !! Hugs.</p>
<p>DS finally heard back from his roommate…who was surprised to have been assigned a room, since he says he has enrolled at a different U. Ah, well. Waiting to hear what the next move is–a new roommate assigned to S’s current room, or S assigned somewhere else.</p>
<p>Dorm does have cable but I am not sending a TV with the kid, and I don’t want him to take a game system. The Wii is the family console (S is an only child but H and I like the Wii, too) so he’s making noises about buying an X-Box. I really would prefer that he get acclimated to school without the additional distraction.</p>
<p>madbean: For the photo of 39 people, I decided on four rows. Started with 9 chairs. Put MIL and FIL, aunt and uncle, older nieces and nephews who were their without spouses in the chairs and saved one chair for the PhD in nanotechnology who was operating the camera. (He put the camera on timer and ran to his chair.) </p>
<p>Put the younger generation guys (my boys, their cousins all under 28 and our grandson) on the floor in front of them. (They had on pants!)</p>
<p>Put all the women behind the chairs. Put all the guys (husband and his generation) behind the women staggering them in between. When it was time to shoot, I had the women lean in and bend their knees a little so we could be sure to see all the men behind them.</p>
<p>In my job, I arrange large group photos at our national sorority conferences. I always scout the hotel first for a set of steps or stairs to make staggering easier. We also have a protocol for who sits in the front of the photo.</p>
<p>Seating the older folks first keeps them from getting tired of standing while they are waiting for everyone else to get in place. Since FIL is on oxygen, that was pretty important. And the young boys in front of him hid the oxygen.</p>
<p>Haven’t seen the pictures yet to see how it worked it, however. Hoping it looks good because FIL is losing energy and mobility by the day.</p>
<p>^^^OWM–brilliant! As I’m not quite as slender as I’d like to be (oy!), I’d love to be semi-hidden by the seated row. Perfect! As are young men in pants on the floor, elders seated first, etc etc. You make it seem easy.</p>
<p>@ momjr - Big Hugs to your DD!! I hope she’s feeling better very quickly. Nothing is more important than our kids health!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words. We’d all help out a roommate, it’s not out of our way at all really. My goal is to make sure the roommate doesn’t feel awkward. Parents should fall into the woodwork at move in. We are going to contact BB&B and ask their policy of releasing orders. Great idea everyone!! If they will do it we will contact the roommate to see if they can initiate permission on their end. No sense in offering if BB&B won’t do it.</p>
<p>Working our way through favorite dinners this week. Tortellini with pink sauce tonight, tomorrow is fajitas, and Wednesday is Navy Bean soup. I don’t have requests past that.</p>
<p>We leave for USC tomorrow!
Madbean- DS will be in Marks Hall. How about your DS?
Very busy time… I just started teaching again and am arranging my sub plans. DS did not want me to be involved in the actual packing process- hope he has it all together!
Wish us luck everyone!</p>
<p>The mommy van (called the Spaceship by DS’s friends) is packed and ready to head out tomorrow afternoon when I have finished work. This is his last night sleeping in his room. We will pick up DH in Kansas City and head east to Columbia, Mo. Eat dinner at our favoritie pizza place, spend the night in the town’s newest hotel and move in Wednesday morning.</p>
<p>DS2 and his roommate went to Back to School night at their HS tonight to say goodbye to their favorite teachers. Apparently two of them were so touched that they cried. It says alot about the teachers that the top two boys (#3 and #11) in last year’s senior class would go say goodbye on their last night in town. </p>
<p>Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes to start the next two days of adventure. Hugs to everyone else–especially those also “launching” this week.</p>
<p>Hugs to you OWM! We’ve been together on this journey a long time my dear friend. There are so many exciting things for OWSon and I can’t wait to continue to hear all of the exciting things he does. It’s just the beginning!! You are no rookie at this launching business and will will have a great time.</p>
<p>Be safe. I’ll see you on the flip side after we launch Bluejr on Saturday!!</p>
<p>Sorry about the health worries Momjr. It is lousy timing in a way, but good that you can hopefully get this taken care of by move in. Fingers crossed. </p>
<p>Blueiguana- you are the epitome of “good sport” re the roommate. I bet his parents are relieved that you are willing and have no idea how hard this could be for you. Good thoughts it will all go smoothly. And good luck to all those launching today and tomorrow.</p>
<p>So D put out the tea pot, cups, mugs, saucers and platter she thinks she wants to take to college. Do I point out to her that there is very little horizontal space in the room and unless she wants to keep it stored in a box, as it is so large it will take up one of the only two or three horizontal spaces in her room (other than her bed)? Or just let it go? She is such a clutterer and I KNOW (despite her protests to the contrary) that the stuff on every surface in her bedroom makes it hard to clean/dust and so worsens her allergies. Why couldn’t I have gotten a minimalist?</p>
<p>My newest worry is finding where the alarm clock/ipod dock is going to sit. Didn’t occur to me until 3 am that he won’t have a night stand. Dd3 had one of those princess-castle-beds and that actually came with these detachable hangs-over-the-bed-rail little shelves made out of wood so I think I’m bringing one just in case that works - and no, thank God it is not painted PINK!</p>
<p>Momjr - Hugs to you!!<br>
OWM - Safe travels aboard the Spaceship!</p>
If they will do it we will contact the roommate to see if they can initiate permission on their end. No sense in offering if BB&B won’t do it.</p>