I was worried as well since our S has had breathing issues in the past. It does seem that the AQI became significantly worse on Thursday. Prior to that it seemed to spike during the day and lower during the night. Question now is what to do when they return as it seems the smoke issue will still be around. Several of S friends have purchased air purifiers for their rooms. Also seems like labs are a safer place to hang out as they control the air in them to a greater degree.
FAFSA is done! Felt odd to pick that DS will be a senior though. If all goes as planned, I am officially halfway in filing FAFSA with DD20 closing in on college herself.
Safe travels to all heading back to campus!
D has started to talk grad school, but first she is trying to figure out housing over the summer, then semester abroad in the fall, then housing for spring semester.
Itâs going to go by quickly!
DD trying to figure out whether to take GRE or GMAT. She doesnât know whether she wants grad school or business school. Going abroad to Trinity College in January, so will likely not take a prep course til this summer and take the exam next Fall.
Just dropped S off at airport for return to school. So nice to have him home for Thanksgiving. Also good news that air quality on campus is much improved. Hope it stays that way.
DS arrived on Saturday. It is good to see him. Anyone else feel out of the loop with most of their studentâs life these days? I am thrilled that he is happy at school and busy getting as much out of it as he can, but I wish he would communicate a bit more. He is going out of town again this week and will return before Christmas. It would have been nice to know that before I did the grocery shopping!
Our S arrived Friday. Great family time planned. He has some internship interviews peppered in the next week, but other than that itâs family and friends.
Hi @Cheeringsection!
As for our case, I guess I can be called a helicoptering parent. As a father who sent his D away to school in a moderate-sized city, I still keep watch over her in terms of knowing what she does on pretty much daily basis. Even when she did a study abroad in South Africa this past summer, I had her give me her syllabus so I knew what she was supposed to be doing on a daily basis. She kept in touch a couple times a day and even sent pics of the South African meals she had during the day.
She keeps in touch with me on her apps for medical/graduate school, MCAT/GRE, LOR requests, study abroad apps for summer 2019, etcâŠ
Maybe I need to let go a little more. ? As our first one off to college, itâs tough for me to not provide recommendations, guidance, or input into the big stuff in her life. Even on the weekends, I ask her when she went to mass.
Sheâs very much financially dependent on us - tuition, books, room & board, monthly allowance, etc- so I feel I should have some say - even now- in her life.
I donât think she minds. I hope she doesnât anyway.
Sheâll be home tonight, so our house will be whole again. Oddly enough, I donât see her much when sheâs home. She hangs out a lot with her friends from HS.
^ Yes, very out of the loop.
H said, When are the kids coming for Xmas?
I said, I have no idea. Some time this week!
Quite a shift from even 2 years ago. I like it
@ChicagoSportsFn no offense, but yes you need to cut back. Iâve lived on my own since sophomore year of college. I cannot imagine my father being that involved in my daily life.
Absolutely none taken.
But when the plan is for us to take care of all her undergrad and medical/grad school expenses so she has no debt after all that, then Iâm sure she wonât mind too much.
Itâs a cultural thingâŠ
Our son, who spectacularly failed to launch in 2016/17, just got his acceptance for the Spring semester at McDaniel College. Hereâs to second chances.
Congrats @mstomper & family.
If CC had a âloveâ button- that would have been my choice for sure. Best of luck for a new beginning.
I would just like to say that I appreciate that parents on this thread are truly excited for and supportive of all of our kids, no matter where theyâve decided to attend or when roadblocks surface. This is a judgement free zone. Iâve looked for it in 2019 groups and unfortunately I have been unable to find it. It is a true rarity in CC land, and I really appreciate it here.
@mstomper The support & understanding youâve shown your son is heart-warming. A bunch of strangers on the internet are rooting for him!
Very happy for your S @mstomper. Thatâs great news.
CONGRADS to your son @mstomper!
âAnyone else feel out of the loop with most of their studentâs life these days?â
Hey, @Cheeringsection. The answer is definitely âYes!â
Still, something Iâve noticed since she went off to school is that there are actually times now when she will reach out to me with a far-off-in-the-distance need to tell me that something âmayâ be bothering her, or a kind of need to talk something out until she has made up her mind about how she feels about it.
I can sense where she is after just a few minutes of talking, and if it is something troubling her, Iâll just talk and ask broad-based questions until I hit on the subject area (friends/internship possibilities/hall-mate stuff/interactions with someone in public) and then she has one of those, ââŠand let me tell you something that happenedâ moments and weâre off.
It is different for her to lean on anyone, and I think I shared here early on in our kidsâ college lives, that the first time she ever asked for advice - during Freshman year - I had to pull over on the side of the road and just tackle things right then and there. It was fantastic.
Family time is something she has come back to giving us as she and each of her HS friends have grown more used to being away from each other. Of course, now there are the new friends at this new level of life, and they can make plans to fly, drive, run, jump, boat, ski away together at the drop of a hat and politely inform us of such plans as it hits that pre-frontal cortex (ha!).
Here, we are better about it now than we were the first two years. (Maybe weâve steeled ourselves?) But when it happened at Thanksgiving, even with warning, somehow it felt like the floor had fallen out from beneath us.
I hear one can (low-key) follow the kids on social media these days, thoughâŠ
@Waiting2exhale you describe it well. Still waiting for DS and GF to figure out how family time fits in to their joint life.
Merry Christmas to all! Yes, I know it is Christmas Eve but this is officially the calm before the storm here. There will be no time for CC later. May all your students love the presents you chose for them from your view just outside the current loop of their lives! ? ? ? ?