I’m glad for your punch line! That’s great.
Both of my older kids still say their nature orientation trips were among their least favorite memories of college, but then they never were into camping. They are both envious of S23 whose two day pre-orientation “trip” next week is “exploring the city” by visiting a bunch of cool local places then returning to their own dorm rooms at night. There was another option my S23 didn’t get where basically they take you to performances for 2 days, LOL.
Packing the car soon to make the drive out and move in tomorrow. Such an emotional few weeks (so many highs! but also so much stress!) culminating in some whisper-yelling in the grocery store yesterday by me, to the kiddo, and some apologizing on both sides as we drove away.
Whew, what a ride this transition is - I’m not ready (but I am) but it’s here (I can’t believe it’s really, actually, happening), we’re doing it!
Got my first unprompted text from my kid yesterday… it wasn’t a first day of class photo like I was seeing on my various feeds. Nope, he was asking for money. 
in fairness to him, I did ask him a few days earlier to tell me how much money to add to his account for his books, but still…
We moved my son into Case Western on Friday and said our goodbyes yesterday 
It was really tough, but my son seemed so happy and it felt perfect for him. So I know he is in good hands and will have exciting adventures ahead. It’s only 3 hours from home so that helps too! He was invited to move in early for a diversity leadership weekend (so it wasn’t as crazy as the main move-in day Sunday) and now he has a full Discover week orientation before classes start on 8/28. They really kept the students busy so we barely saw him, but he met new friends, including his roommate (who he seemed to hit it off with) and had a blast. Such a bittersweet time as we enter the empty nest stage (our daughter is a senior at Loyola New Orleans.) This group has been an amazing source of information and support! Thanks to all of you & best of luck during the challenging (but exciting) days ahead!
We moved my son into his dorm Sunday afternoon. It was quick—less than 2 hours from picking up the key until he kicked us out. He has texted a few times & played an online game with his younger brother Sunday evening 
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Our situation is a little different because we intentionally chose a close school since he is on the autism spectrum & we thought he might need extra support. I did get my first “meltdown” call this morning. It’s a long story, but basically he thought he was going to be able to use a meal swipe for something (without gluten) & was able to yesterday, but was not allowed to this morning (only things allowed had gluten in them). We talked through what his options were, but the bottom line is just that he was disappointed and embarrassed, and had a little trouble dealing with that. A little while later he texted me about something else and I asked how things had resolved. He said he complained to his new friends about it and then felt better. And, he said he bumped into the Director of dining services at another event, and mentioned his frustration to her and she said that seemed reasonable, and she would look into it!
S23 also was pretty adamant before he went to school that he wouldn’t have time for us once he moved in. But he did ask today if I could bring his comfortable desk chair tomorrow (“and bring along S24… you know, to help carry it”). And, when he found out his cousin is visiting this weekend, asked if we could stop by school to eat a meal with him. I think, for my son, that’s the appropriate amount of space this point. He is making new connections and being on his own, but some touch points with home are positive for him.
Awe, I love this story! My S26 is on the spectrum and we’re also thinking close to home May be best. Great job your boy did advocating for himself!
I put pics on the cc page.
I left him 7 hrs ago but Im still in town for a few days. Hes already ignoring me. 
He seems to really like his room. I feel solid about his school choice. Fingers crossed!
Side note: d25s first time seeing Cuse. As I thought, way too much for her. She said its a nice place but more her brothers speed. We did tour Le Moyne nearby and that she really liked!
Moved D23 in today and remembered the morning we were driving away from the hospital, and I thought “who are these crazy people to give me this baby that I have no idea what to do with!”
That went quick.
Ever since S23 started middle school and I told him he had to make his own breakfast and lunch, he has made bread in the bread machine, almost every night (probably 95% of the time). Same recipe-plain white bread. Tonight I put the bread machine in the cupboard, and took the bread box and cutting board off the countertop. Almost got a little emotional doing that—it was almost harder than saying goodbye to him at school!
(I sent him two photos the first day we were back after dropping him off—one of the dog, and one of the bread machine. And said “guess who misses you?”)
That made me teary! For me grocery shopping is where I get emotional. I see all the things D24 likes to eat and realize there’s no reason to buy those things anymore. I am going through this all over again after her being home all summer. You will be so happy when that bread machine comes back out over winter break and even more so summer break!
I’m just amazed at how much food is still in my refrigerator one week later. I was starting to plan for the next grocery run last night, and looked and realized we still had a ton left.
The meal plan at VT is pricey - but if he does the all you can eat cafeteria option more often there, we might actually come out way ahead on this deal.
If the food is as good as they say, he may never eat home ever again!!
I might try to calculate out the point where we actually save money on the food bill. But I just checked out his meal usage account, and he seems to be enjoying the food there quite a bit.
It is that good!
My S definitely didn’t take advantage of the “all you can eat” cafeteria -
I had to add some money his account near the end of both semesters.
UMASS and Va Tech are rated the highest in the country - along with UCLA. I’ve seen the first two names mentioned more than any other.
Kids pick colleges for different reasons but both mine struggled with low blood sugar - the food stinks - blah blah.
One of my teammates lives in Phoenix and swears the UMASS dining is better than any restaurant she can go to.
I mean, some people eat great at home but still tire of it and need to eat out. So yes, you tire of anywhere too much.
But - at least when you read about food - Va Tech and Umass come up a lot - and Cornell too. I toured Va Tech (nicest school in america in my opinion) but haven’t dined there - so I can’t say for sure. On Niche reviews, students also talk about the food…usually they bash food but they give solid marks to it in the comments for Va Tech.
Each customer is different - some like Chick Fil A, some like Pop Eyes.
To each their own - but I do think food is underrated and kids should maybe add that into their "decision matrix). It’s very important - but it takes more than good food - it also takes the kids making time to go eat.
@DadBodThor will give us the truth in a few weeks or months
I stopped at the store the other night and was grabbing two gallons of milk and two loaves of bread. Then I realized there was no one to eat all that and put half back. So bittersweet.
Get the quart :). Freeze the bread. It thaws quick. It’ll be ok !!
I still have one last kid at home, but I need to gauge how much of what he’s eating. We can’t figure out how much to make for dinner either. Last night we gave up and had wine and cheese while our son ate the last of the leftovers.
S25 is a picky eater and likes to make his own meals. Without D23, DH and I have been eating out too much and having a lot of wine and cheese dinners 
And she’s only been gone a week!
S20 went the opposite way, south to midwest. 7 and 1/2 hour drive. It is senior year now and I’ve driven up every fall to drop off everything, and every May to pick up everything.
It’s not really “everything” because it’s just a carload or vanload. No big deal for me because I don’t mind driving. I enjoy the ride with him because we get 8 hours to be alone and converse. And I enjoy the trip without him because I get to savor the enjoyment of driving while listening to an audiobook.
I imagine for someone who dislikes driving long distances, it might make more sense to ship the belongings and fly to the college.