I guess they need to feel they are doing something a little wild and crazy! My D has played it safe for so long (I mean, she didn’t even so much as layer her hair for years so she could make a smooth ballet bun) that I understand the impulse. I’m feeling a little stir-crazy myself!
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@inthegarden @Creaky Mine will probably be piercing her nose soon, not ideal to me, but she’s 19 and an all-around good egg. @Pnwfamily you know that I expect your son to pick purple 
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This was so my daughter! No unnatural colors and had to be able to pull back into a bun for ballet. When Covid hit and classes let alone performances were thrown out the window she chopped it off and started dying it pink and purple. Killed the time I guess. Honestly I thought the pink and purple streaks were pretty fun.
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A few weeks ago I Came home from work to a purple haired daughter…she said she wanted to go a little wild…this is her version of wild. I’ll take it.
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I could have said this word for word about my own daughter. I mean, I had to practically hold her down to get her throat swabbed for strep….when she was in middle school!
And then…she went to Spain to study abroad her junior year of college and got a tattoo while there. 
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Mine is working out and leaving leftovers on his plate.
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That a boy! 
Overtone or Brad Mondo’s XMondo color.
Progress: all the bedding for one kid fits in two of these laundry bags, for car ride, schlepping to room, and possible summer storage. Washed and ready for one kid, just waiting on a package for the other. T minus 16 days for the first one to leave. The dining room is filling up.
Need to order one laptop asap - yikes. Then lots of odds and ends to wrap it up. They need some new clothes too. And shoes, something that will be able to withstand rain (maybe I will make them take their waterproof black restaurant-job shoes lol). Of course the one heading north has no boots, though we can punt that till Thanksgiving.
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Same here - never seen him work out so much. Also, bought protein powder. This made me very concerned (suspicious of all supplements) but his dad is fine with this so I guess it’s ok in a daily shake.
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I’m totally punting boots until Thanksgiving. I’m afraid we will buy something now and she won’t like them come Dec. Better to just see what kids typically wear. We made a few mistakes with S19’s winter gear and really only got it right when we shopped during winter break. He was fine with a fall coat, hat and gloves until he went back in Jan. Both of our kids are in cold climates but on small campuses so don’t have to walk very far!
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Can you tell us what the mistakes were?
So far we have only gotten S a Patagonia fleece I found at a thrift shop (hope that’s not one of the mistakes 
). We have to get a fall jacket and winter coat/boots.
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Room and class assignments went really well. One hiccup with one class that was a nice to have. Repeating the mantra ‘need to buy a laptop.’ But S has very specific standards and it seems no one has built a laptop to them yet.
Flying out and making a mini vacation of it. Still need to figure out the plans to air out the mattress pad. But other than twin XL bedding, nothing else has been purchased or requested. Not sure if I am getting off easy or the dorm room will just seem barren compared to every other one. It’s to the point that someone suggested he rent out his closet to students that brought to much stuff…
22 days…
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We just bought too big of a coat. He only has to walk five or ten min max to class and both the dorms and the buildings on campus are so warm. He’d much rather prefer layers than a big bulky coat. He used the big coat every once in a while if it’s a super cold day but would say he could really do fine without it and doesn’t prefer it 90 percent of the time. It’s a longer LLBean down coat with a furry hood.
As for boots, he’s happy with the trail boots we bought him for his orientation. They are gortex and sporty. We bought Bean boots but he doesn’t wear them much. Wool socks with the trail boots are less bulky. And sidewalks are generally cleared really fast so he’s not trudging through a foot or snow or anything.
In general, it seems most kids do with less. If they wear a couple of layers like a tee and a flannel or a sweatshirt/sweater and a lighter weight winter coat with a hat and scarf, that seems to be enough. I know IL (where we are) has deep freezes sometimes and it might be in the single digits for a week. That doesn’t really happen in Maine. Unless the school is in a place where that could happen and the student has to walk far to class or wait for buses, I think many kids can do without the most intense winter wear.
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@NateandAllisMom OMG. You cracked me up with this. S21 is working out two times a day with his high school buds. They’re trying to get to 150lbs (he’s 5’10”). He started doing this when hs swim season ended. Protein powder and all. And yes, I’m still yelling at him for leaving dirty dishware in his room because he keeps all sorts of hours. The thing is, my next door neighbor has a weight system and her s22 used it once so S21 and a couple of other ‘21 kids use it. I have the nicest neighbors. I did see that she drew the line at 9:30pm since they were going over at 10-11pm. So now this other 21 kiddo’s house is the place for PM workout.
I love that the kids are expressing themselves. One of my son’s friends is perming his hair.
I’m all for quality tattoos that will mean something down the line. I have two, myself!
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Omg mine too! All summer he’s been up at 9:00 am to go to the gym…rolls back home after noon…my kitchen island is cluttered with his pre-workout, protein poweder, post workout and god knows what else. He’s completely given up sugar…is using a scale to measure out his food…I’m like WHO ARE YOU!!! It’s all working though because the boy is RIPPED now lol
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2 of my kids are obsessed with going to the gym now also. Maybe with all of the pandemic crap they’ve dealt with this is something they can control? Anyway, speaking of protein powder, do anyone else’s kids dry scoop it? I can’t even watch, makes me gag.
Yes, the dirty dishes! The sink will be empty and then they clear out their rooms and suddenly there’s a sink full of dishes again. (No, they didn’t do this growing up, we didn’t raise them to do this, etc etc, I’m just picking my battles these days). S20 is 6’5" and doing everything to gain weight, including late night meals, and the other night fell asleep with a bowl of spaghetti next to him. Let’s just say he monopolized the washer/dryer the next day dealing with the aftermath (and we enjoyed a lot of jokes comparing it to the horse head scene from the Godfather).
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I’ve been obsessed with working out since this all started. I think it’s something people sometimes do when they feel a loss of control. It’s one thing they can control. Also, the endorphins help!
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We created a home gym last summer. We already had a few things, but added a weight bench and weights for my boys. Then H started lifting too. It’s like a competition now between them. Between the three of them, I want to scream every day at the Blender bottles for endless protein shakes they leave next to the sink (rinsed out at least). Anyone else have those things? They seem to multiply in my cabinet. It never fails that as soon as I have my kitchen counters clear and pristine, I also hear the blender running for someone making a protein smoothie.