Pre-pandemic, we were not going to go to graduation weekend. Our kid said she wasn’t really into it.
We then planned to have her travel back here for a combo graduation / birthday / grad school celebration and now that’s shelved.
I was laid off in March & things look bad for the industry (hospitality) — so ideas of a grand graduation gift have most definitely fizzled.
Sorry to hear that @Midwest67 , not sure what we will do, but I’m sure it will be small (burgers in the backyard ?). Daughter want some balloons involved.
@Rivet2000. We bought some balloons that I hope I can get helium-filled at Krogers. I also bought some cake mix, butter, and food coloring to decorate a cake. And, I got a cute graduation cake topper from abirthdayplace.com. They have lots to chose from! We too canceled a family get together. Maybe we can do that sometime in July.
@Midwest67 . I am sorry to hear about your job situation :(. If this goes on, my husband will prob. lose his job also. Things are not looking good. Hope that healthy people under 65 can get back to work soon.
I skimmed quickly, and I don’t believe I updated.
Our kid tells us her grad program which was supposed to start beginning of June will indeed start on time, but will be on-line only for the summer term.
Oddly, that will work out for her, as her current lease goes until August and she will be able to delay the actual physical move until fall.
I’m happy for her, as I know it would really upset her to have the schedule disrupted.
@momofsmartdancer I hope your husband can hang onto his job & your family experiences as little upheaval as possible. My husband leans towards the optimistic side, which helps the mood in our house.
How has everyone here found out about the college/university parent-of-admitted-student Facebook pages?
After all this time (of being a parent of…) it feels silly to ask, but as I rarely use Facebook, it has never occurred to me to look for such a group.
@Waiting2exhale thank you for the good wishes! Since your older child went to MIT, can you please point me to the parents’ FB page? I’m almost never there, either, but would for this 
Hmm. Don’t know that I was in receipt of that link, but I will check, @fretfulmother .
@fretfulmother : What I found is that there is both a Facebook page for parents of grads as well as alumni, but doubt that will suit your needs right now. Using Facebook, put in “Parents of MIT Students”.
The only other link I found (which I will send to you in a message as I do not know if the rules here will let it stand) seems to have something of a panoply of resources for new parents. Note that new parents are given access to the Infinite Connections resources in August:
“Before you create your account, you’ll need your User ID registered with the MIT Alumni Association. Parents of first-year students will receive their User ID information in August, before the start of the academic year.”
@Waiting2exhale thank you! Do you remember how we put our deposit down to confirm comMITment?
We just watched out daughter’s virtual graduation. We are now the parents of a college graduate!
The ceremony was very well done for what it was and only 30 minutes long. Not how we anticipated this day to be but still happy for her.
Congrats ?
Wow! Congrats @me29034 & DD.
We also have a virtual grad ceremony but, it is not until 5/23. I think DS is more than ready for this semester to be over.
Yay @me29034 and D! A couple of my DS’ friends were graduating from Pitt so we also watched the ceremony yesterday. Very well done–though I still cried over the fact that these kids aren’t having the ceremony they (and we) envisioned.
I mailed in a tuffet of his 'fro, Fret.
No, seriously, sorry, I don’t remember.
LOL @Waiting2exhale
It turns out there’s no deposit to comMIT - just an honor code.
DS had some exciting news (although at the same time disappointing). He was notified he is a Dean’s Honor Graduate for his college. Less than 1% receive the award. It is an honor.
Usually the honorees get to sit on stage during graduation and we have special seating (woohoo) but, with the current situation it is highly likely he won’t even be in the state when they actually have a ceremony.
:neutral:
Trying to keep things in perspective- we are healthy and looking forward to maybe a true celebration when we win this war. Hope everyone can do the same!
Congrats @bookmom62 ! What an accomplishment for your DS!
Thanks @zipstermom. He has had fantastic opportunities during undergrad, looking forward to see what grad school brings.
BUT, taking into account the current situation, I think I will forego the “cruise ship” theme for DS’s ongoing education! 
We are not really celebrating. Our daughter is a couple thousand miles away with her sister. We did send money. Her graduation is going to be an online affair at the end of May, but the school is currently planning an in-person ceremony next spring in conjunction with their annual Reunions event. I hope we can go to that.
Congrats to the recent graduates!
S is done with his worst final as of tonight. He’ll finish sometime this coming week, then come home in time to watch the online graduation ceremony together (but distancing) on the 16th. I’m making a yard sign, will decorate a cake, and have his favorite foods. Maybe I’ll scrounge around for balloons. I still have a stash of graduation plates from our D’s graduation two years ago. I’m happy he’s coming home since I haven’t laid eyes on him since January. Maybe we’ll also have some extended family members Zoom in with their congrats.
I can’t imagine what it feels like to be any of these kids. I didn’t care a whole lot about my own graduations, but I did attend, and imagine I would have felt disappointed had they been reduced to a 30 minute online event. S’s school is still talking about rescheduling, so I guess that remains to be seen.