<p>Loving the reports from the road and respective colleges! Keep 'em coming.</p>
<p>Tonight we’re loading up the new laptop, delivered at 5pm today in the exact nick of time. Stepson stopped over to say goodbye to his big sissy–they were awkward and cute. He put in his bookstore swag order. </p>
<p>She will leave here tonight and head to her dad’s, and they embark tomorrow first thing, flight at 9am. I’m not going to the airport, I’m really fine with saying goodbye tonight knowing I’ll see her in 10 days when we fly down for convocation. I’m really, really happy she has a week to adjust a bit and make new friends at band camp before school starts.</p>
<p>All of this “tooth talk” got me reminiscing…S got his braces on Dec. of his Junior year. In order to do this he got the brackets on Dec. 17th and then had 8, yes I said 8 teeth removed on Dec. 21st (no brackets put on those since they were coming out). He had 4 wisdom teeth + 4 others pulled all at the same time. Luckily he felt well enough to have some bacon Christmas Eve morning. </p>
<p>Happy to say-the braces came off yesterday-6 days before launch date!</p>
<p>Wishing all of you going through tooth removal a speedy recovery! As the nurse said to me at the time-you only have to do this once! (We still refer to the doctor as Dr. Yankemout)!</p>
<p>Checking in as well to say how great it was to have a chance to meet Woody35 and her daughter in person! We had a nice lunch then they came back to see the new house and let my son show off his K’Nex and piano skills. I think the kids were less than thrilled about hanging with their moms’ virtual friends at first, but seemed to open up and have fun talking about their upcoming launches/future lives. Thanks so much for stopping by Woody and anyone else coming to or passing through the Indy area is welcome! </p>
<p>Pinot - we’re sorry you couldn’t make it to the get-together but hopefully we can meet at some point in the future. Glad to hear the wisdom teeth went without issue and hope it stays that way! We decided to hold off on those until next summer for my son - just too much going on this summer. We also actually did some packing today and dorm mountain is starting to gain amplitude!</p>
<p>MizzBee - I remember going to a Little Italy Festival a few times, so I’ve probably been to Cayuga! Knew people from Clinton, went to Turkey Run all the time, and of course drove to Danville, IL when the drinking age in IL was 18 many times!</p>
<p>Wisdom tooth recovery still going well - he’s chatting, not too swollen, and pain is well controlled with meds. </p>
<p>PN- so we did have the same stomping grounds! I still remember Turkey Run and trail 3. That is one of the top 3 things I am asking DS to do when he is at school. Half of the people that went to college from my hometown went to ISU, and I was born in Danville.</p>
<p>Getting close to take-off here – we leave after work on Thursday. Stuff is pretty much packed; S and H will mail some boxes today. Of course, this is the busiest time of the year for me at work (I work on a college campus) but I am thankful they are allowing me time off; typically we are not permitted to take vacation this time of the year. I may be spending a lot of support time on the phone while on the road!</p>
<p>My girl left for the airport with her dad. I’m good. It’s actually a bit of a relief after all this anticipation. I’ll see her in 10 days! Roll Green Wave!!!</p>
<p>Good morning! S1 still recovering well. S3 is off to his first day of school. S2…diligently sleeping late and relishing his last few days of unstructured time. We really must think about packing some since he flies away Sunday.</p>
<p>Sending out good launch vibes to ReneeD7’s D, familyof3boys’ S, woody35’s D, MeteorMom’s S, geogirl’s S, hsmom2dncrs’ S, ready2bdone’s D, Elkyes’ S, and katie93mom’s D! Here’s hoping for no traffic jams, no flight delays, and no weird roommates with freaky demanding parents! Just warm hugs, confident smiles, and just the right amount of perfectly phrased (and appreciated!) final words of wisdom!</p>
<p>Well folks, I am going to college move in with my neighbor as her husband will be away on a business trip. They are bringing the tv and the wii and game and dvd collection, as well as a variety of board games, including settlers of cattan, a chess set, and chinese checkers–my kids got him hooked on it.</p>
<p>My going away gift for the college boy was a nice set of noise cancelling headphones.</p>
<p>I am hoping the neighbor’s roomie’s mother is not as obnoxious in person as she is at a distance. I am hoping for a drama free move-in…my role is to stay out of it, just to supply moral support and maybe be the buffer that keeps everyone on their best behavior.</p>
<p>Good morning all! We are still at our summer home but return this weekend for the mad pack for college. I figured since he is a non fashion conscious kid, four days would be enough time to pull it all together. He has no interest in any room decor at all. I did do much of the dorm essentials (bedding, towels, meds, shower stuff, laundry bag) back in June and left it all sitting in open boxes, waiting to be shipped on Monday. I made a big mistake though of not listing what is in each box or what we are still lacking, so I may need to inventory the stuff Monday morning and lose valuable time. </p>
<p>I hope we don’t need to shop for anything. DS says he thinks he needs more shorts. I did not allow time for this. We have trouble finding cargo shorts that are long enough but small enough in the waist. DS is 5’10", very slim, and all legs (33-34 inseam). Any online suggestions?</p>
<p>Since he doesn’t pick classes until the day before they start (crazy IMHO), he will need to purchase textbooks and school supplies himself, at the campus bookstore. Freshman cannot have cars so not many options there.</p>
<p>I am feeling unprepared but not anxious. He is my third and last child to launch and although this one seems unready, he is very bright and capable (although lazy by his own admission). All through HS he procrastinated and pulled it off in the eleventh hour. Hopefully he will do the same with the launch.</p>
<p>Pinot - DS had the wisdom teeth out last winter break. Dent mom on this forum was invaluable to me! If you have any issues I would PM her.</p>
<p>boysx3 - A first hand witness to what I would consider one of the two whackiest move in mom’s to date! </p>
<p>We have a week left til we leave. Anyone else feel like they need mood stabilizing drugs? I go from excitement, to anxiety, to sadness and pride. He doesn’t get it, he just thinks it’s funny that we’re so kooky.</p>
<p>I’d like to hear how everyone is doing once they get home. How long does it take to be okay and was it worse or better than you expected?</p>
<p>Thanks, seiclan! So far it’s going smoothly, but I will keep dentmom in mind!</p>
<p>eyemamom - For me, the anticipation was worse than the reality. The two things that really triggered misty eyes were the closed door to his bedroom and setting the table for four. But really - it was just a twinge. For H, who didn’t really feel it until we actually drove away without him, he had lingering sadness longer than I did. What really helped was that he seemed happy where he was.</p>
<p>boysx3 - Thanks, I had been a long time lurker (like so many) on CC, and when the process was over (only have the one D), I was just so relieved I had to celebrate with a screen name. What a nice gift you’ve given the neighbor boy, a set of roommate-mother-cancelling, er noise canceling, earphones.</p>
<p>eyemom, I can relate to the mood swings. Problem is, I have to keep them a bit under the radar, as my D is having her own swings, and adding to that right now wouldn’t be a good plan. Trying to present a stable combination of optimism, sensitivity, support, deference, cheer, and understanding is exhausting me. One thing I have done is purchased a couple of coupons for nice things to do after D is launched. (Groupon, Amazon, etc) Thinking of ways to temper the sadness by celebrating that empty nest, too.</p>
<p>eyemamom - I think PN kind of hit the main point in her post. As I mentioned last week my wife leaked all over the car during the ride home and had bouts of saddness for a full week after getting back. Son finally called yesterday to say that he had made the marching band and she realized that he really was fitting in and was happy, that seemed to make a real difference in her overall mindset.</p>
<p>So my thoughts on how long… that first phone call where you can hear the happiness and excitement in their voice. That is when you truly realize that they are OK and you can relax.</p>
<p>Of course, those of us with sons who are not prone to frequent (if ever) communications have to wait a bit longer than others. :-(</p>
<p>Best of luck to all of you who are launching or preparing to launch. How exciting! </p>
<p>I am thinking along the lines of HoorayHooray’s idea of planning some fun things for after the launch. We’ve bought tickets to a fun concert and have made plans for outings with a couple of different groups of friends. I’ve been mulling over the idea of an empty nest party for the parents that we’ve enjoyed through high school or perhaps a care package assembling party for the moms of some of S’s friends. </p>
<p>Once older D is sent back to college next week, I’ll focus attention on S and his need to prepare for his launch. Lots of friends are leaving over the next week or two so I’m hoping I can get more focused attention from him at that point without as much distraction from friends. I’ve been enjoying your stories about your preparations and maybe I’ll have a few to entertain you over the next few weeks.</p>
<p>My H and I have decided to go to an Inn and Spa for a few days after we take our S to school. We are going to move him in, and then stop home for our stuff and head off for a few days of relaxation (at least I hope Iwill be able to relax). My S is going on a pre-orientation trip where they do not allow phones so I know I will not hear from him till he gets back. Then we are going to head back to his school for convocation a few days later and we can bring him all the things we did nto think of the first time or could not fit in our car and bring home all his camping gear that he will not need the rest of his semester. I do not think it will really hit me till after we are home from convocation…</p>
<p>I’m having drinks with friends this week, another mom friend always has a back-to-school cookout at her house in September, and I bought tickets to see Pat Benatar/Journey/Loverboy in a few weeks to get my 80s nostaligia on. It’s all good, right :)</p>
<p>boysx3, you are brave to go along as support!</p>
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