Next week I get to go see S17 for mom’s weekend at the fraternity! He has his first exams next week and I’m a little worried since he is off a couple hours away for a concert today.
I’m finishing a quilt for the auction today. Otherwise he is busy being president, dance marathon, food drive and being a physics LA.
@STEM2017 :)) 
@techmom99 with the amount of mushrooms, avocados and peanut butter that I eat, I think I eat your share!
@Fishnlines29 I think its great that your d not only recognized what she needed but also that you are supporting her. It is important that we all do that when needed. It also sounds like she certainly has a plan in place on how to get where she wants to be. Good for her!
@STEM2017 It’s worse than that. I have a slacker of a D. She spends all her time partying. <:-P
I have been out of communication with S17 by phone as his died. Oldest son navigated the obtaining of a new phone via the insurance but it hasn’t reached S17 yet. We are texting but he’s dyslexic so it’s not his preferred mode of speaking with people.
He’s under stress with the show he is working opening this week and questioning whether he even wants to work in theater. He does this every time a show is close to opening. He was thinking about changing his major again, but I discouraged that since he is also toying with graduating in three years, which would be possible if he did 12 credits this summer at the local CC. I told him to just get his degree and get out into the world. If he proceeds with his plan to graduate early, I told him that he could have a single in the nicest dorm for the last year and some money to travel after graduation. I also told him that this is likely to be his toughest semester since he’s taking 18.5 credits. If he does summer school, he can graduate with basically 13 credits each of the next 2 semesters. I told him to forget about the honors program and just worry about getting B’s. He has no interest in grad school, so I’d rather he focus on learning his trade (by working more shows) than struggle for A’s.
H wants him to intern at the same company he did last summer, where they have already invited him back, but I would rather he do the CC classes and maybe work for the company on Fridays and weekends. It’s a film production company owned by a long time friend of H’s, but the owner would not have invited S17 back if he didn’t like him and think he had the goods. Last summer, S17 was surprised to receive a check for services rendered at the end of the stint since it was supposed to be an unpaid internship. Since S17 chose to attend a SUNY, we are, fortunately, in a position where he can take on unpaid work during the summers. He doesn’t have to earn money to pay for college.
@Fishnlines29 - It’s good that your D realized she needs a break before the school tells her she has to have one, which almost happened to my S12. He is finally in therapy and maybe that might help your D. It’s good to have a safe place where a person can vent or express their feelings without worrying about upsetting or disappointing mom and dad. It’s hard when they drop out - believe me, all 3 of my older sons are dropouts and I think that’s part of why I am pushing S17 to get out in 3 years!
Reminds me of that Eddie Murphy song.
@STEM2017, darn you and your unexpected earworms! 
My D is interested in studying abroad in the spring of 2020. What do families do with the cell phone? I’m not tech savvy and have no idea what is the best way. She calls a lot and texts a lot. I cannot afford big bill from thousands of international phone calls!! Talk to the current provider (T-mobile) or just get a new phone at the destination country?
@RightCoaster Might have some thoughts on this.
@HiToWaMom We have T-Mobile. D studied abroad for 8 months last year. During that time, I added T-Mobile One Plus (it was called something else last year) to her line for an additional $15/mo. But D mostly stuck to WiFi and WhatsApp. For internship interviewing and prep from Morocco, she purchased a “WiFi box” for more reliable service. It cost about $20 each month she used it.
My D called and texted a lot as well. My bill went up about $30-$50/month depending on how often she called not using WhatsApp.
I think my son got some sort of euro Verizon plan for a few months in London. We mostly talked with him via Skype if I remember. That seemed to work fine. But I’ll ask him later, I totally forgot what he did.
Thanks for the info!! T-Mobile One Plus sounds good. I don’t know what WhatsApp. Can you tell me about it?
We do Skype occasionally so it’s a good backup. My D loves to call spontaneously without any reason and that might add up to our bill.
@HiToWaMom It’s an app you download from the App Store/Google Play store that like Skype allows free calls through WiFi. The connection wasn’t perfect but was quite good. Each of you need the app. Advise her to use it to call when WiFi is available to limit calls through T-Mobile. I think it’s $.10 per minute, which isn’t bad, but is easily minimized by relying largely on texting and WhatsApp.
Thank you. WhatsApp sounds pretty good!! I will look into it!
My son just told me he purchased an EE SIM card that he put into his iPhone and that enabled him access to the EE network for 4 months.
Then we used FaceTime on his dorms Wifi so that was free. I don’t think I even called him once on his phone, we would just FaceTime once a week at a set time.
Seemed to work fine for us.
D bought an euro sim card that were generally for sale in grocery stores (school took them there). She used it in France for a little less than 2 months. We used whatsapp for calls.
@HiToWaMom Yes, definitely talk to T-Mobile first. We switched from Verizon to the T-Mobile One Plus plan when D studied abroad. It was unlimited data and texting; and when your daughter wants to make actual calls, ask her to connect to wifi if at all possible and as others mentioned, What’s App works great! She can also make calls when not connected to wifi, so if she is simply walking around the city or traveling to other countries, she will always have cell service (at approximate .25 per minute)
@letsshare and @techmom99 Thanks for the kind words, we are supportive, but deep down hope she goes back in the fall! It’s funny, I always believe it when I tell my friends, “your kids will find their way, don’t worry!” but then with my own, I’m a big worrier! @techmom99 I’m bribing her with travel money after graduation too
@Fishnlines29 Before I had college aged kids, I was so jaded. I thought everything was set, and they’d sail off into the sunset.
I thought my oldest (DS15) would go into an athletic training or PT program after undergrad, and he’d play club sports throughout it all. He’d be happy and successful, and fly through undergrad… And as it is, he’ll graduate this year, but his GPA isn’t pretty–definitely won’t get him into DPT programs, and he’s now playing mens league sports. He’s happy, but his route has been circuitous.
Younger son (DS17) is definitely making his path, but there was the GPA scare last year where he needed an appeal to keep his biggest scholarship. He’s doing really well now, but even his initial plans from high school have changed quite a bit. Things that were important to him in high school have fallen to the wayside while he focuses on his political and mock trial groups. It’s GOOD STUFF but different than his original plan.
It’s funny, but when I go to grad parties now, and hear all these plans of all of these kids, I bite my tongue to keep from saying, “Come tell me what you’re doing in 1-2 years.” Plans change, and it’s FINE! These kids are young, and still trying to figure everything out.
Hi everyone, Hope all is going well. What plans do you all have for spring break. S17’s snuck up on us and we really dont have many days since D19’s break doesn’t line up with his but we are thinking maybe a long weekend to the grand canyon. Do any of you have any input in terms of visiting there?
S17 has three exams this week. He’ll probably spend most his time at home next week sleeping and eating (mom wants to put some weight on him - lol).
Otherwise, he has an interview with a major Manhattan engineering company on Tuesday - fingers crossed!
BTW, regarding our earlier conversation about paid/unpaid internships - he is dragging his feet a little bit with the ‘perfect’ but unpaid position. He’s hoping this Manhattan engineering company comes through…and pays! But his options are pretty good so far.
@STEM2017 thanks for the update. Does he know any students who worked with the two companies he is considering last year? My son was able to get some good information on a few companies he was considering from previous interns he knew in terms of their experiences and the types of opportunities it provides for its interns. It may help your S with his decision. I am right there with your wife, I am hoping to fatten my S17 up just a bit too.
Wishing your S17 good luck on his interview. Let us know how it goes. What type of engineering is he doing, I don’t remember. My S is chemE.