Hey all! Finally getting a moment to check in. We are LOVING Chapel Hill and are settling in nicely. The kids haven’t met anyone yet, but once classes start I think it’ll get better. It’s definitely been a lonely summer for them… there’s been a whole lot of video games, reading, and in S19’s case a personal project of compiling and creating new stats for past and present MLB players. Not something I would consider summertime fun, but he seems pleased w/ his work.
We are getting down to the final days w/ S19 at home. His ‘Pack N Hold’ order is waiting to be picked up in Ohio, and the little S and I fly out in a week with S19 and DH driving up. A bit of unexpected news, S19 ended up w/ a double- single. His roommate texted him about a week ago that he withdrew from school, so S19 called ResLife. At such a late date there’s no current plan to put anyone else in his room. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad news, & DS knows how lucky he is to get a single. But I think he was looking forward to having that safety net of having a roommate, at least for the first few weeks. But I think it’ll work out & he’ll be fine. His room is smack in the middle of the hall, so I told him to leave his door open as much as possible… people will eventually wander in! LOL
Big hugs to all the moms and dads moving their kids in!!
Our furniture and belongings finally arrived on Monday, so we’re starting to get fully settled into our new home. It’s good being back near family – my wife’s cousin who lives 45 minutes away came up and helped us get the kitchen all squared away. All went smoothly except that the movers in Switzerland seem to have misplaced the bolts for one of our tables, so either they’ll turn up in some unexpected place during unpacking or we’ll get new ones.
We’ve reversed our plan to return things to Bed Bath & Beyond and pick them up in New York. D19 reminded me that the pile of stuff looks bigger than it is, mostly because of a big stack of underbed boxes. She’s only going to bring one of them with us, so we should have enough room in the car. Two days away!
D26 started middle school today. It was strange to drive past the high school with all the kids there & knowing D19 is not there anymore… we leave on Friday. It’s all starting to get real.
Updates—— My son came back from an intensive summer program. He tried on a bathrobe and likes it. He says it’s very comfortable. So, a bathrobe is back to a packing list. And, I bought a small duct tape (I still don’t know what is for) and a very cheap and compact flashlight (2” x 3”) recommended by a college and packed in one of suitcases. These are something my son will never buy by himself…
It’s been so hard not seeing her since 1 July. It was just like quitting something cold turkey. One day D19 is there. Next second, nothing. No contact. No nothing for like 10-14 days? July is all a blur for me now.
D19 is loving West Point. She tells us all these nice stories about why she’s glad to be there. D19 says as much as she love us and wants to be with us, she’s happy to be away at West Point. She got her class schedule yesterday. It’s 19 credit hours this semester- and that’s on top of her military and athletic commitments. Fortunately, social life is non-existent for plebes so she’ll have nothing better to do than keep her face in the books.
Our S19 will be leaving on Sunday for a pre-orientation trip and then I’ll meet him a week later for move-in. I put an empty open suitcase in the middle of the living room floor, and, finally, he’s starting to fill it up. He has been pretty cool about things all summer, but now I can see him getting excited - I think it was learning who his roommate is that finally made it real. Many of his friends are already leaving, so there is also a lot of final pre-college bonding going on.
Has anyone else taken a peek at the HS Class of 2018 thread? I have found it very interesting, and reassuring, to read what’s going on with those families this summer. S19 is our first to head off to college, so it’s hard to envision what happens next.
@ChicagoSportsFn Glad to hear your D loves West Point! In the past there have been so many negative stories from plebe summer (negative stories get more press), but I would think it is an excellent well-rounded, challenging education.
Everyone else, best wishes for move in! S19 doesn’t move in until Monday - today we go shopping for the last bits, using many of the ideas from you all (flashlight, gotta add that one). Found out that his dorm room has less floor space than most doubles in the building - at one time it was designed as a handicapped room so the bathroom element of the suite (2 doubles and a bathroom) takes up much more room than most. He’s a bit bummed - right now it looks like no space for his beloved beanbag chair, even with the beds lofted. And while his roommate sounds like a friendly guy - communicative, offers to split costs on various things - it turns out his one and only hobby is…watching professional gaming. No sports or hiking or anything (S19 loves soccer and hiking), no reading, no board games. He is bringing a small tv, a game system, and headphones. I reminded S that there will be lots of other kids in the dorm, and a quiet roommate is better than Mr. Party Animal.
I’m not ready either! We leave tomorrow around 2 and move-in is Saturday morning. I got a few last minute Target items today - added two items to the medical kit: benadryl and condoms (gulp). I also had a fun lunch with S19 and my sister. They are both super sarcastic and S was making fun of some of the communication from his school. “They think they need to comfort us, like this is going to be such a hard time in our life, like we’re going to miss our family so much and have trouble leaving for college!” Apparently (unlike my D17) he’s not planning on experiencing any of those feelings. Oh well, he’s really ready!
Hi everyone. Want to wish everyone the best first year of college, and thank everyone for all their help. As hard as I try, this new layout is causing me to stop by less and less. I find Reddit more user friendly if you can believe that. As my twins will be departing to separate schools, I just realized that while I can go visit each here and there, they won’t be seeing each other until Thanksgiving break. Congrats all!
@ChicagoSportsFn How nice to hear your D is loving West Point! And you get to see her tomorrow - so great! My D has a friend who went to the Naval Academy, can’t wait to hear how he likes it.
Hope everybody is doing well these last few days/weeks. I think we are pretty much set now. We have mailed two big boxes, shipped a few things from Amazon and Target and will get the little stuff there. All we have left to do here is pack up D’s clothes which will actually be kind of a pain because she LOVES clothes and wants to bring everything she owns.
The school sent her an email confirmation yesterday that they had received all of the shipments. When she opened the meal there was a picture of all of the boxes sitting on her new bed. That made my heart sink a little - seeing her actual room all ready for her! She was happy though because her dorm has exposed brick walls - some are natural and some are painted white - she got natural which is what she wanted.
We had to say goodbye to the BFF who left for CO this week. The girls spent the day at the beach and went out to dinner then came and hung out at our house all night. I was pretty good when I said goodbye but got really teary when they were being super loud late at night and I realized how quiet it will be without them around! Also got sad the next morning when I saw all of the pictures they had taken the night before - they took a bunch with my other two kids which was so cute because they have all grown up together.
I meant to remind everybody to get their legal forms in order before your kids leave for school. I read that you should have a HIPAA Authorization Form, a Healthcare Power of Attorney and a General Durable Power of Attorney. (just looked it up online so some may be missing!) I went to a website called eForms and was able to do a free 7 day trial to fill them all out - I did 6 total, one of each for home state and college state. That might be overkill but it was so easy I figured I’d be safe. Going to get them signed and notarized at DH’s office today and keep a set of copies at home and a set in the dorm.
ThinkOn…I hope your twins have a great year and I completely agree with you about this new format! Have not visited it in a while. I just can not believe the time is here and exactly this time next week, my son will be moved into his dorm. What a process it has been. I am thrilled for him and all those joining my son in the exciting college experience.
@momtogc I’ve been going back and forth on the health forms. S19 signed a form at his pediatrician here but that’s just for her office. I called my doctor and she said she never had her college kids fill out any other forms. She said (1) your child can give verbal consent to have a doctor or hospital talk to you and (2) she has never heard of a situation where a hospital with a child isn’t able to speak would not give info to the parents on the phone. Plus, unless the child gives consent on a HIPAA form that calls out the exact hospital or doctor, it’s not even valid. There’s a spot on HIPAA forms that say WHO is allowed to give info to the parents. Without knowing where a student could be sent in an emergency, those will not be checked. Now, if you child needs a doc near school from the beginning (like if they have a current medical issue and will have a doctor) then you can have your child fill out a HIPAA form there. I think the colleges also have HIPAA forms that kids can sign for any medical/psychological services they receive on campus.
@homerdog I was thinking the same thing when I filled out the HIPAA form - it is really more of a specific, one time document. For now I just wrote “doctor” where it asked who is releasing the forms. After reading the Healthcare Power of Attorney one it seems like I wouldn’t even need the HIPAA one though - seems like it covers the release of records?
I am going to do the other two though. There was a dad on the Tulane parent FB page whose daughter was in a car accident at school and was unconscious. He said he had a very hard time getting any information over the phone - did not live in Louisiana - and said he hoped none of us had to go through that. DH has a notary in his office which is nice and easy so I figured signing a few pages was worth the peace of mind.
I ended up only doing the healthcare power of attorney. I got the printable pdf form from that website listed above and filled it out myself. It said it had to be notarized OR signed by two witnesses who are non-family. So we ran over to our neighbors’ house last night to have them sign. It was also nice to get a quick photo of S19 with the boy across the street. They started kindergarten together all those years ago and the other kid was also leaving today for school. Sniff sniff.
The medical power of attorney is necessary for making decisions if your adult child is unconscious or unable to communicate decisions. The son of one of dh’s coworkers was involved in a serious accident while away at school in another state a couple of years ago. They were thankful to have the medical proxy as they needed it in their situation. Fortunately,after having to take a semester off, their son has recovered and back at school. It was the one piece of advice he urged Dh to do. We had our paperwork notarized at dh’s office with the general counsel as one of the witnesses. As the mother of two college students, she also agreed it was better to be safe than sorry and has them for her adult college children. It doesn’t cost anything (unless you have to pay someone to notarize).
D19 moves into school on Tuesday. I’m not ready, yet I am. I don’t relish being an empty nester at all and I am going to miss my youngest so much. Yet my normally sweet D is feeling her oats reminding me more than she should (verbally) that she is “18”. Case in point the earring hoops she just got in her upper ears a few days ago. Ok they don’t look bad but she obviously thought it was a thrill to do something she did not technically have to ask us permission to do, because as she quoted, “I’m 18” . She acts like she won’t miss us but I am hoping it’s an act. Sure I don’t want her to be home sick by any means but she can act like she will miss us a little bit. We’ve always been close. Sigh!
S16 was so much easier. He left and was kind about it. He continues to fill us in on his day to day world without any attitude. I hope our D19 shapes up and remembers that it’s not just her world that is changing but ours too. I am afraid she won’t keep in touch as effortlessly as S16 has. We’ll see soon enough.
