I moved D in on Saturday as well. Yes it was harder this year. Last year it was exciting and new and seemed like the start of a new adventure. This year she was just leaving. She was happy to be going back but it was much harder for me to leave her.
Just an FYI for others on one big mistake I made this year. We decided not to buy a lot of personal care items, cleaning items, etc at home. There is a Target only a couple miles a way from school and I figured that after we moved her stuff into the dorm we could just do a Target run and pick up all that stuff plus grab some food items for the room. Huge Mistake. Apparently everyone else had the same thought. Imagine the mall on the last shopping day before Christmas. That was what Target was like. There was a traffic jam to get into the parking garage. There was a traffic jam to drive around the parking garage. There was a traffic jam to get out of the parking garage. You could barely move inside the store and the lines to check out were horrible. Iāve never seen anything like it before in my life. People had multiple carts stacked high with all their purchases. Next year we will not be doing a Target run on move-in day.
@me29034 Thanks for the headās up. Thatās exactly what we were planning to do. I guess Iām off to Walmart to buy toiletries and personal items.
Does anyone else think that their kid didnāt get enough of a break over the summer? Both of my kids worked long hours all summer. One only had 5 days home before and 5 days after her internship before she had to be back at school. Iām sure theyāll both be fine. Its just a far cry from the days of endless laziness and video games.
I found drop off pretty easy this year - D16 had a relaxing summer (just a part-time job - no internships until she has 60 credits and a car of her own, most likely) and was getting bored. Time for her to go.
Move-in for her off-campus apartment was easy. We opted to go to a Target an hour away from her college town and even crossed state lines (the nearest Wyoming Target was deserted!) Grocery shopping was pretty entertaining as she has never really done it before. She was surprised about the cost of coffee and pickles.
@MuggleMom My Olin son came home for a week after the Spring term was over and was back in Boston working. Heāll come down to NOLA later this week to help our Tulane son move in, and will be back in Boston Sunday night to move back on campus. It seemed that summer only started yesterday.
@me29034 so sorry your Target run was a hassle! We did the same thing and had no trouble whatsoever. I guess it all depends upon how many others are moving in on the same day.
@MuggleMom I hear you on the āless of a breakā but DS preferred it. He went back to school with more spending money, good things to talk about in interviews for next summer, and the start of a good resume for that first ārealā job post-graduation. It is time for them to be doing these things.
@MuggleMom Could not agree more. DD spent less than two weeks at home this summer and we are expecting her home this weekend for another week before the school starts. I am happy for her that she had a productive summer, but a little more family time would be nice. She just informed us that she will not be home for Thanksgiving since they only get four days and it will be a midterm season. And it doesnāt look like she will be spending long winter break at home either. This was not something we planned when she decided to attend school on the other coast.
Well, since I stepped away from my usual planning-things-to-death and did not pull out a copy of Sās packing list from last year until late Saturday night, we were scrambling Sunday morning to put together toiletries for him to take back to school. I had seriously not given any of it a thought! Since I usually over-obsess about everything, this was an odd departure. We didnāt have time for any shopping trips, so shopped the house. I have to secretly grin inside that S has my favorite White Tea and Ginger shower gel and a bottle of Hās Suave strawberry shampoo in his shower caddy.
@me29034 Sorry to hear about your Target run! We went to Trader Joeās and Target on Saturday and didnāt run into any problems. It was later in the day though - around 5pm.
Aloha! Itās been awhile since I posted. Dās move-in hasnāt happened yet, but she has moved-on. After a lazy summer home, she decided to make a last minute trip to the mainland to see family and will leave from there back to Northeastern without any help from the 'rents. I went from when is this slug posing as my daughter going to get back to being a busy, hard-working student to gosh I wish I had more time with her.
Year two is looking very intense but exciting. She switched from Bioengineering to Mechanical Engineering for her major, has a REALLY great paid research gig, super-dee-duper housing, and is so looking forward to having a kitchen and not having to rely on the the dining hall. For āfunā she got certified to be a group exercise instructor and will be teaching at her schoolās rec center. So, if you happen to be in Boston and want to a Butts, Guts & Thighs class, palmkid can hook you up!
Wow @palm715 sounds like sheās living the dream! Good for her! So excited to see her engaged, happy and having a blast. Kudos to you for handling it all! I love reading stories like this, it makes me feel like there is so much positiveness out there for our kids. Thanks for sharing.
We took DS to school on Thursday. I know he is glad to be back- still miss him though.
Hard to believe it was just 1 week prior that he was still in Houston finishing up his internship. I canāt imagine what I would have done if Harvey had landed a week earlier!
Donāt remember if there are many Houston parents/students on this pageā¦ if so- prayers & stay safe!
Glad to hear you are safe @labegg! The news is showing some pretty scary stuff. May you and your neighbors continue to be a dry island. I hope help is soon available for those that need it.
Hereās an update on S16. After a Freshman year that saw him stop going to most classes both semesters, we had him evaluated for possible learning disability by an educational psychologist. An extensive battery of tests determined that, while his scores in almost every area were extremely high, his academic writing was in the low average range for his age. Itās not surprising that it was confusing and discouraging when this kid who had everything come easily to him suddenly met an obstacle when the writing became more challenging. It was harder for his teachers to see what was going on because, rather than turning in work that indicated that he needed help, he usually just didnāt turn it in at all. That ābeginning, middle, and endā type of writing with supporting details was a wall he didnāt want to face. Since he never admitted he needed help in high school, and just didnāt do the work, it was easy to assume he was being lazy. He even said this was the case at the time.
At this point heās looking for a job and not really thinking about school. He hasnāt ruled out going to the local community college in the future, but right now he canāt see himself at a 4 year college. Maybe when he has some success at the community college level that will change. He has a diagnosed learning disability now, and there are accomodations he is entitled to.
Thanks for the update @mstomper ! I wish your DS much success on the school and job front. Many paths lead to a fulfilling life and sometimes the hardest part is following where we are led. Keep us posted!
Son returned last week for a month before fall quarter. Good to see him! Quick family vacation for a week, then relaxation before fall quarter beginsā¦
@mstomper, thanks for sharing the update. My oldest made extensive use of the disability office at her university and they were very helpful. Hopefully that resource will be useful to your son when the time is right. A year or so to decompress sounds like good medicine for the moment.
@mstomper - good luck to your S. Everyoneās road is a little bit different and thereās no question in my mind that heās going to find his way, given how supportive his parents are!
Sās first day of sophomore year is today. He (very nicely) sent me a picture of himself in front of one of the most recognizable buildings on campus (he knows I collect these first day pictures!). Heās been there for close to two weeks now since he was an orientation leader. Hereās hoping this year is a good one. He has ambitious plans for the semester - heās planning to work at an unpaid internship 3 days a week in addition to his classes and his clubs/activities. Tells me he likes being busy!
