@DavidPuddy - we crossed paths - My son and I were in Tuscaloosa on this past Saturday afternoon - we left Huntsville after dropping off DD to return to Austin, TX and stopped to walk around Bryant-Denny - Impressive!
Done and done - Move in is a wrap.
Our road trip was sooo much fun, I have 5 days with both of my kids all to myself and then son and I had a two day drive back home.
Honestly, the hardest part of this whole process was putting my grown son on that plane back to CA/Northern Nevada knowing this was probably our last vacation of its kind and knowing that he is starting to create his own life 2000 miles away.
Daughter will be home off/on for at least the next 4 years but son, he is off on his life adventure and that was really hard.
S18 is back home this week after wrapping up Summer B which reminded me that I havenāt posted in ages. He got along well enough but even a school as large as UF that forces summer hours has very little activity going on. It will be interesting to see how the atmosphere shifts in fall (we will have our second drop off on Friday).
We have been crazy busy and havenāt really been hit with much of an empty nest effect. It also helps that he is closer than S15ā¦ something like 10x closer turns out does actually make a difference Iām not sure if itās any of those factors or just second child syndrome but I havenāt been as firmly living vicariously through S18 as I did with S15. It feelsā¦ less stalkery but a little disconnected. Maybe fall and football season will make a difference!
Just spoken to S on a distorted line while he was waiting in Lisbon airport. He survived Portugalās hottest day of 47 degrees Celsius with no air conditioning!!
Also got his A level results today - a creditable ABB.
Taking off right now - heading your way - I am definitely passing the baton!
@NamePoster , we are in a similar position. D15 is 28 hr drive away, while S18 will be less than 6. But I actually may end up āstalkingā S18 more, mostly because his school makes a greater effort to connect with parents and there are a variety of online ways to see what is going on, bother generally and specific to S18. I even get alerts on my phone when there is a thunderstorm in the area of S18ās campus, which I am not sure is a good thing for us. I may have to disable that one!
Good morning all! I havenāt been on in a while - it was a quiet summer after the decision was finally made. But now I am sitting in a hotel near UCF waiting for D to finish getting ready so we can start ā shopping dayā. We just brought her clothes & basics with us from California & will acquire everything else today. I did this with D1 four years ago & it was great fun. Tomorrow is move-in & Saturday is goodbye.
Dās been teary saying goodbye to her friends, pets etc. I hope she gets excited over the course of today. Kind of glad this is my last time doing this - itās emotionally intense!
Hi everybody, itās been a while since I posted too. Busy Summer! S18 will be on a quarter system so we should have a month with him but it will only be two weeks. He is off to do some international travel with his best friend. They are excited and I am nervous!
He also doesnāt have a dorm assignment yet. Seems like everyone else does but when he called the housing office they said heāll find out 2-3 weeks before school starts. Sigh!
Everything is good at home and he is sweet as ever. Iāll really miss him!!!
Just back home from dropping DD off at USC. Hopefully she learns to do laundry, as her attitude of buying a new one when everything is dirty has to end quickly. Her dorm room is next to the laundry, so that should help her learning curve.
We donāt expect to return to LA again until four years from now for graduation. Good luck to all this new academic year and I hope all worked out for you as well as it did for us!
August is already half over! S had a nice birthday the other day, spending time with friends.
I am getting to the end of the ānestingā stage. Got all the necessities I believe.
Got everything washed except clothes.
Got the bedding all packed up and ready to put on the bed.
D is moving in with the rest of her stuff (mostly clothes) early next week and S is moving in at the end of the week.
We need to do a few things in his portal, health forms and order his books.
Since he is using his music theory books for several semesters, it makes sense to buy them.
Both are almost done working too.
I expect S will come home on some weekends to visit his girlfriend and other friends.
And I expect I will travel to campus to watch S in some ensemble performances.
We are here at a hotel near campus. Moved older D into her apartment today. She only forgot one bag and all of her hanging clothes. #-o I have a friend who has already sent those.
We were able to check out Dās dorm room - there is no chest of drawers! This university is always a surprise with housing āamenitiesā aka basics. But she does have AC, which is nice. Long day tomorrow: move in, convocation, meeting with Dās academic advisor (parents are invited), school-wide picnic. Then I will go collapse at the hotel, shop for some storage for her clothes on Saturday morning and hit the road. Itās really fun but exhausting.
Did anyone get their Universityās health insurance? D18 is headed off to UA on Sunday and Iām trying to figure out whether itās worth it or not. Sheās under our HI with Kaiser. Iād prefer for her to simply walk into the campus health center if anything happens.
I havenāt posted in a while, partly because I was so traumatized over college admissions and where D would ultimately go (or not go); after a lot of hand-wringing (mine), tears (mine), D decided on a Gap Year. For all of you whose kids are ātaking flightā CONGRATS!!! For me? Iām much happier now that D has graduated HS and a decision is made. She and I had a wonderful summer together, and very shortly, sheāll be heading into the next phase in her life, and making more college apps., LOL!
@droppedit
We did not seriously look at the UA health coverge, because it is provided by United and that is already our insurer. I think if a family has good coverage that already includes their children, it is generally preferable to keep that in effect and ensure local service is arranged. Small hassle, but better than double paying.
Anecdotally, I would typically not recommend UHC if a family has a choice of providersā¦
Watched the live streaming of the convocation, last night our time 9pm - theirs 3pm. āWavedā as S and new roomie walked up the aisle and clapped loudly at all the right places, all while watching in our pyjamas! So good to see him! Also roomieās mum sent us a lovely photo of the two boys outside their halls. Woke up this morning and S had sent me a āroom tourā via whatsapp and as an added bonus I can see the shipping has arrived - so will not have to be borrowing.
LIFE IS GOOD
Anyone else think that their kid is taking too much to college? It would take all of Alexander the Greatās logistical skill to transport everything. We have hundreds of container ships, fifty USAF C-17s, and a mile-long herd of war elephants heading to Tuscaloosa tomorrow!
S18 moves in 8 days. He is in a triple and was given only email addresses for his roommates. He has been in touch with one roommate but the other has not responded to either of them at all. It seems weird - has anyone had this situation? DH wonders if he got in off a waitlist somewhere else and will be a no-show.
D is launched! I always cry that first day when I move my girls in, but not when I leave. So weird. Good luck to everyone with move-in ahead of them and I hope all of our kids have a fabulous year! >:D<
Iām not sure if itās any of those factors or just second child syndrome but I havenāt been as firmly living vicariously through S18 as I did with S15. It feelsā¦ less stalkery 