<p>Hard to believe that there are still kids launching…DS has been gone since Aug 9th, feels like he has been gone for about a year or so.</p>
<p>Megan12…chin up…it really does get easier after a few days. Took my wife about a week but she is feeling better now. After that first call or text where you can really know that they are making friends and getting along you will feel like some weight has been removed.</p>
<p>It has been good having DS gf come round regularly. She tells me things that DS doesn’t about his mood, activities, etc. A bunch of ids are going down to visit him this weekend, so that is nice. GF can’t stay in the house until he is an active and she is 18 so should make for an interesting weekend after all. </p>
<p>Received word that he got a job, but I have no idea what that job would be. Hopefully it is enough that he won’t feel too poor.</p>
<p>Renee I love that video 
</p>
<p>My son would ABSOLUTLEY LOVE TO GO - but he’s stuck. Alone with only Mum and Dad until Sept 20. He’s got his bags all packed - figuratively - and no place to go. But at least he was able to train in to school today, get his Student ID Card, and then train to Chicago to visit some friends who have been in school for weeks. </p>
<p>And now that he’s got the ID card, he can go to football games, and get acclimated to the campus. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>Nugraddad - the football team is playing games but nobody’s living on campus yet
to cheer them???!!</p>
<p>College senior called to talk to mom today…so nice to know I am still needed!
Mega problems with red tape regarding billing and registration, and he has no time to deal with the bureaucracy, so it’s mom to the rescue.</p>
<p>I’ve had kids in college straight through since the fall of 2003…and I still get excited when my phone rings and I see it’s one of my boys. Am I pathetic, or what? I should be used to my empty nest by now.</p>
<p>Oh…update on my neighbor’s son.</p>
<p>He and his roomie seem to get along just fine. They will never be besties, but they get along ok. Roomie seems to have lots of “rules” and neighbor boy just seems to cheerfully ignore them. </p>
<p>Roomie does not participate in co-ed volleyball league on the floor team because the games are at 11 pm and midnight (many students have a class in the early evening), and kids often get a snack after–and he is supposed to go to bed at 11. Mom said so. Mom also emailed neighborboy to tell him he should not play either, because he should go to bed at 11 also, so her son doesn’t get woken up and so he doesn’t feel left out. The RA has also been informed that the floor shouldn’t be doing activities so late at night.</p>
<p>Apparently both neighborboy and the RA hear from mom frequently.</p>
<p>Boysx3 - WOW! I’d hate to be that RA, your neighbor’s son, or the roomie. I don’t actually think that mom is a helicopter mom - she’s far too involved to merely be helicoptering over. I’m trying to think of a different word for her… General Mom?</p>
<p>Sorry everyone, middle son writes in after his chem class to let us know he has, " The Best. Teacher. Ever! " I hope he feels this way at the middle and end of the course… Fortunately for us, the older edition of the book is fine and the online access isn’t needed, though the Iclicker is - as well as a lab coat, googles, and a different lab notebook. All of those are no biggies compared to $280 for one book. I’m glad he signed up for the class he did. PNW - did your kiddo tell you anything about the prof? It sounds like the kids will enjoy it - so far.</p>
<p>AND, then he mentioned possibly participating in an HIV vaccine trial for $750. That one concerns me… maybe it shouldn’t. He assures us there’s no chance of catching HIV as they don’t use the virus in the vaccine, but my guy being a guinea pig? I don’t know what advice to offer. It’s not something I think I would do, but it’s his life… any thoughts? I can’t say I expected that sort of news…</p>
<p>boysx3 … I don’t think you’re pathetic at all to be overjoyed when your kid’s call you. That says that you have supported them well and they are on their own, but they still want you in their lives in a good way. </p>
<p>On BINGO scoring, the Helicopter-General-neighbor-boys-rooomies-mom gets all her letters taken away. The neighbor boy at least has some fun stories to tell.</p>
<p>Creekland, I assume you’re saying he could get $750 to participate in the trial … at least he’s telling you about it before he commits. If I was rich I would give my S $750 to not do a drug trial in his first semester at college, but alas, I am not rich and he probably wouldn’t tell me even if he did decide to do it to protect me from worrying. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer, but at least your S mentions this to you.</p>
<p>The package I sent my D this week has not arrived, though post office said it would only take two days. Too bad because I made cookies. Evidently mail at the school is backed up with all the book orders arriving.</p>
<p>Just dropped off my S’14. His school is near home so no travel. Since he can easily come home his packing was very disorganized. He also told us he plans to do his laundry at home this year- because it’s too expensive at school (even though we supply the quarters). I’m guessing it’s really because he thinks mom will pitch in and do it.</p>
<p>It was fun to see all of the excited freshman on their way to an event at his school. They only arrived on Tuesday but most were chatting away like lifelong friends. Hope all our class of 16s are doing as well.</p>
<p>bubmom–have your daughter go over to the mailroom in person. </p>
<p>AU is notorious for a badly organized mail service. They are always waaaay behind…she shouldn’t hold her breath until they send her the email saying they have a package for her.</p>
<p>Make sure she knows to bring her ID.</p>
<p>Creekland–</p>
<p>make sure your son asks the right questions. </p>
<p>Getting the vaccine is scary enough. Will they be deliberately exposing him to HIV after? That would be a definite NO!</p>
<p>As far as roomie’s mom goes, I think she is obnoxious and aggressive and very used to having things her way. To say this is actually terrible, but she even looks like the description of a harridan!</p>
<p>She bullies people and just expects them to do what she wants. I think her family gave up on having any independent opinions long ago.</p>
<p>I feel for the RA…this is one mom she will never be able to please, and this mom is the type to then harass the RA’s supervisor all the way up.</p>
<p>boysx3- congratulations - the neighbors roomie’s mother now wins! Crazier than our woody dragging “garmy” half way across the us as a drug mule. </p>
<p>That poor RA, I hope she’s trained to handle these crazy situations. It wasn’t even an opportunity to even get the RA’s phone number. I don’t even know her name.</p>
<p>If I were the RA, I’d be glad to offer up my supervisor’s name and number and let the (better paid, older, professional) staff handle this one.</p>
<p>Boysx3,
Thanks for the advice. She did go in person tonight but as you say the mail room seems very disorganized. No worries as she is enjoying her experience otherwise. Gives us a chance to hear a bit more from her. I get what you are saying about being glad to hear from our kids, even if it’s only to help them out with something.</p>
<p>Creekland wrote:
I think it’s a better gig (short term, anyway) than selling plasma or … uh … some other bodily fluid. I had forgotten about the plethora of money-making opportunities in a college town. :)</p>
<p>Could they be giving him a vaccine and then doing a blood test for antibodies at some later date? Biology isn’t my strong suit.</p>
<p>WACKALOON CHALLENGE: </p>
<p>There’s apparently a need to come up with a nice but firm email response to be sent from the neighbor boy of boysx3 to General Mom. Something where he basically tells her to feel free to email him if she wants him to help her locate her missing son due to a family emergency but nothing else. It may or may not contain the phrase “restraining order,” that’s up to you.</p>
<p>Hey now, eyemamom! I wasn’t even in the running since most of the Garmy saga came from my side and not from the instigating roomie mom! </p>
<p>I offered my flipfolder experience as a decent Honorable Mention but said in advance there was no way that tale was in the running for a major prize position after boysx3 first mentioned General Mom and the banned gaming system weeks before move-in! There’s still another month to collect more winning tales from the rest of our later launchers! Some of our Wackaloon parents will be on some very large campuses where there will surely be some kooky OTHER parents in sight!</p>
<p>Great idea, Woody…Let’s have a contest!</p>
<p>My neighbor is thinking of contacting roomie with her own wacky demands just to see if he communicates them to his mother, and to see how she would react…! You know, like demanding the lights be left on if son is not yet home and in bed so he doesn’t stub his little toe on a chair? And making sure he checks the mail room in the basement at least twice daily to let son know when the tag is put on his mailbox to indicate that a package has arrived, so he gets his books and care packages immediately?</p>
<p>Roomie’s family is coming down this weekend for a visit…Second visit since school started. They live 4 hours away.</p>