<p>So happy to hear that everyone had an enjoyable Parents’ Weekend! With all of your great advice and support, I felt prepared for the weekend and I couldn’t have imagined having had a better time other than having an extra day to visit more classes and explore a bit more. The most important element was that the forecasted rain stayed away during the day throughout the weekend other than a few drops for a few minutes during the football game. There’s a long read ahead, but I had such a great time I wanted to share with my new BC Family!</p>
<p>Friday was such a picturesque day with the summer like weather, and it was perfect as that was the day I trekked about campus the most. I was able to catch a glimpse of my son’s first class during the last ten minutes (I mentioned to him before class that I might be a tad late, he said I could still come in through the back door of the lecture hall…slipped in quietly with no problem). After class he met up with me (he surprised me by coming right up and saying hello as I went out the back door and he went out the front…I was looking down at my phone as I did not know where to turn next). I was so happy that he walked side by side with me as we chatted along, not dodging or embarrassed by my very presence as I expected. Went to his dorm to drop off my boots while he went to catch up on reading in the lounge before his next class (luckily I had boots in the back seat of my car as I was prepared for the rain, Brighton Campus where we were directed to park was VERY muddy and wet from the recent rain, my suede flats that I wore for walking about would NOT have survived as we parked on the mushy field.) </p>
<p>We arrived separately to his next class which was very small, but there was another set of parents there, and we felt safety in numbers even with the intimate setting. The professor was very welcoming and the class discussion was quite engaging. It was so nice for me to feel her warmth and how she stimulated the students’ thinking and how comfortable my son and the other students were in sharing their ideas and thoughts. Son asked questions and volunteered his thoughts several times, I was so happy he was involved in the class discussions. If you have the opportunity to go to classes, I’d highly recommend it and in most cases, people don’t know which parents belong to which kids, so no reason for the kids to be embarrassed.</p>
<p>At lunchtime, my son met up with friends and I hesitated, thinking I would eat at another table so that he could have his space and I could observe from afar (and YES he insisted on treating me to my soup!)…he waved me over and invited me to eat with him and his friends, and when I offered to give him space, he said he already asked his friends and that it was okay. His friends were so warm and welcoming and involved me in their conversations, even pointing out how my son developed an accent overnight…which got me hysterically laughing as it was true and he couldn’t hear it, but I giggled every time it came out. A few friends also passed through that he called to the table, so it was heartwarming to see how at ease and happy he is socially. It was interesting to see the personalities that match up with the pictures we’ve seen so far, and funny to hear what other students were saying pending their parents’ arrival. There were a lot of other families all over campus, so the extra family members were expected every where I went…and anytime I had to ask for directions, the students were so happy to help. </p>
<p>His last class was a test at Fulton Hall, so I used the time to walk around campus. Found the classroom just before he came out of the test early, but he didn’t realize I was nearby. He chatted with some other friends before he headed out back to his dorm to rest and change for an interview for a leadership position. Fulton hall has such a beautiful central hall, I was in awe just taking it all in and I recognized it to be the backdrop of the Boston College Lipdub video from YouTube…unfortunately it’s now a private video we can no longer access. </p>
<p>I stopped by The Chocolate Bar before I headed to meet up with him at his dorm to pick up my boots for the marshy trek to the car…wanted to see what the fuss about The Chocolate Bar was, and he was happy to enjoy a Purple Cow Frappe brought right to his doorstep! By then we were both tired after the long day so after a quick chat, I headed back to the hotel to rest after grabbing a snack from the nearby Whole Foods - but he was willing to come back out later that night to pick up his father and brother from the Boston Bus Terminal with me. I was surprised at how much he knew about Boston as he went through several of the neighborhoods during a scavenger hunt with his dorm. After we picked up his father and brother, they had nice conversations catching up and we ended up going back to the dorm so that we could unload all the goodies we brought from home before the rain came. His father and brother were not able to come to Move In day, so it was nice that they were finally able to have that opportunity for closure…especially since his roommate left for the weekend with his parents so we weren’t intruding. Upon leaving, we spent a few minutes in the car enjoying the content moment and saw him through the glass join his friends in the lounge for a round of cards, while wearing the Halloween costume he requested from home. It was a nice feeling to see him back “home” with his BC “family.”</p>
<p>I had a great time at the football game…the amount of tents and tailgate events were such a sight! Hubby and younger son were watching the game, so they were in a bit of an angst with how the game was going…but there were moments of promise so the game was still interesting enough to watch. We were seated in section P, directly across from the Student Section where my son was - he makes a point out of being in the front row by the gate just above the Visiting Team Tunnel with a red bandana tied across his neck…so he was very easily visible and he spotted us as we were lucky enough to have been seated directly across from him. I wore a Superfan sweatshirt I found on sale for him, and he knew it was me from my camera strap across the yellow shirt. I watched him most of the game, and although we were not physically together, it seemed like we spent the afternoon together. Watching him participate in all the Superfan songs, hand gestures and interacting with his friends was a lot of fun for me…a little deja vu from his elementary school performances…and watching the squirrel on the field go through the touchdown zone on both ends of the field was probably a once in a lifetime moment! He did text an invite for his brother to come over and join him and fellow Superfans, but brother was a wee bit shy this time around, but it was nice he extended the offer. Baldwin’s Jersey #00 even matched my younger son’s Varsity Soccer jersey #00! One memorable moment during the game was when a student sitting behind me told his mother how much he loved BC as a transfer student from another Boston school…he said BC doesn’t just cultivate good students, BC also cultivates GOOD PEOPLE. Ever since Orientation, we have felt such a sense of warmth, community and caring at BC, and it was so nice to hear that the students feel and appreciate that as well. </p>
<p>Scottj: I thought of you several times throughout the game and took photos of the CC section…I was the one in the Superfan sweatshirt with my camera pointed up at your section! I’ll have to zoom up and figure out which is row 19! I take it I should look for someone in bright yellow or maroon? I also have to thank you for sharing the ESPN U channel with us from another thread as I did tape the first game and enjoyed watching the Superfans. It helped a lot that I checked out the seating chart and booked our tickets over the phone rather than having the seats assigned by the computer. </p>
<p>Bluebayou: Thank you for sharing the touching story about Welles R. Crowther in a previous post. My son wears the red bandana in his honor to all the games, and after watching the video from the link you posted, I watched as Crowther’s father read his name at the 9/11 Ceremony with such emotion, and I was so touched to be part of his BC Family. The Crowther family lives in a county near us, and we had not known of the story until you posted the link. </p>
<p>Dogwood: I had no problem with the restroom by our section…it was right by our gate and we got there early enough and 5 minutes before halftime so no wait. I had no idea that Bruce S.'s son attends BC, and his son shares the same name as mine…what a fun fact! You mentioned in a 2008 post that his son was seen at orientation, so I’m thinking he is expected to graduate this year?</p>
<p>Beach17: So happy to hear that you had a great time too and also noticed how family friendly the BC Community is. It reminds me of the emphasis on the student, school, family support aspect that is emphasized throughout the education of the youth today. It amazes me how well we are treated AFTER we have already committed to attending, and that it’s ongoing, not just a marketing lure to get a commitment to attend. A lot of parents are surprised to hear that BC welcomes parents to the classes…and frankly without that aspect, it would not be as much fun without getting a glimpse of our kids’ day to day lives!</p>
<p>After the game, son boarded the BC bus with us to head back to the Needham Industrial Park where we parked and we headed out to Chinatown for dinner…we ended up at Penang, a Malaysian restaurant that also has locations in NYC and NJ. He enjoyed the authenticity not available on campus and it was fast, fresh, hot and tasty…family style and reasonable. I took photos of the restaurants that had a lot of volume that Saturday night as we walked through the area, now we know which ones are the go to places for son’s next visit, with or without us. Son had to rush back after dinner as he had a homework assignment due online that night, he passed on bringing us to his new find from the scavenger hunt, Mike’s Pastry in Little Italy as he had the assignment on his mind and we were too full for White Mountain Creamery. When I asked him about White Mountain Creamery, his eyes glazed over and said it was sooooo good…and that was just the vanilla…his RA took the dorm there that first weekend at BC. Nothing quite like warming up to new friends over ice cream!</p>
<p>Sunday we all slept in and didn’t make it to the lithurgy. We were not able to reach son in the morning, found out later he didn’t sleep until 5:30AM, at least he was open and shared with us. We made a quick trip to Trader Joe’s and Stop & Shop in Brookline to bring him some frozen/refrigerated items and some mini pumpkins for his dorm, in addition to the dodgeball he requested we pick up as he wanted to practice with his team before that night’s dodgeball event. He and his friends take the grocery shuttle on Sundays down to Beacon St. and pick up their items at the CVS and they were talking about heading to Chipotle or Eagle’s Deli for dinner (from TV’s Man vs. Food), it was good to hear that he gets off campus, even if not too far. After a few throws of dodgeball with his brother (he came out with a baseball hat, tank, shorts and barefoot, the spitting image of a college kid =)) and a few quick pics, we hugged him goodbye with plans to see him (and the barber) during Thanksgiving break. It was a very pleasant weekend without any scowls or complains about suffocation or ill feelings of him dodging us after the long trip there.</p>
<p>I think it was important that we made a point of reaching out to him in advance to see if he wanted us to come up for Parents’ Weekend - and that we asked about his pockets of availability as we told him that everyone had busy schedules, but if we were to make the commitment out of our time to come up, that we would expect him to make the commitment to spend some time with us so that we wouldn’t feel like he spent the weekend ditching us. He didn’t get back to us with a schedule in advance, so when were there I think he felt it was his part to be a good host. It was a nice balance of spending time with us and spending time with his friends as well…so that he didn’t feel resentment from feeling chained to us the entire weekend. Having little reasons to meet up with us (family dinner, carrying up groceries, dropping off the Purple Cow Frappe, getting the dodgeball) were good excuses to meet up at different short spurts throughout the weekend. </p>
<p>We are already seeing him grow and develop into a young adult at BC…did not expect much change this early, although we’ve heard about the expected change during the first trip home. We are so happy to see him so involved, joining many student organizations, applying for leadership positions, remembering to apply for his work study, making it to his meetings, and being so comfortable with the many friends he’s making and being part of study groups to prepare for class…he even joined a breakdancing group! He didn’t put his personality out there as much socially in HS, despite being involved and succeeding academically, and it’s so refreshing that he has the happiness and confidence to put himself out there now on his new journey to discover himself. We are so grateful for all the elements that led him to BC, despite having to take on a lot of student loans, we couldn’t be more happy for the young adult that our first born is becoming. He was initially disappointed at being waitlisted at several Ivies and passed on a full scholarship at a safety, but I am so proud that he has embraced all the opportunities that BC has to offer and I can’t imagine him anywhere else, despite not knowing much about BC before his acceptance. Somehow the universe knew that BC “FIT” him and BC showed how they appreciated HIM by the opportunities and programs they offered him. We can’t imagine him (and us) being any happier (besides the student loans that is!) He is becoming a respectful and responsible young gentleman, and I can’t wait for the next BC family event! We are learning more and more how “super hard” it is to get into BC and how “everyone” wants to go there…we are so blessed that our son has this opportunity and that he seems to be making the most of it. </p>
<p>I also want to make note that BC was the most personal in their correspondance…they were the ONLY college to mail him correspondence via snail mail…BEFORE the anticipated announcement date…and following up with phone calls of congratulations and also personal phone calls reminding him of various deadlines. Other colleges notified him via email first before being followed up with letters in the mail. It just felt more old school and personal via snail mail. </p>
<p>Are there other family events throughout the year or is it just Parents’ Weekend and the First Year Orientation? He is looking forward to the 48 Hours weekend coming up in the next few weeks. </p>
<p>Funny occurrences this weekend…I was handed a condom by an organization while trekking about campus on my own…son disapproved as the science geek in him said it was latex and he said people can develop allergies to latex through consistent exposure…and carded for the wine I purchased for cooking from Trader Joe’s (they have a very reasonable department at this location that isn’t available by my area, it’s worth a stop). Funny what happens when I meander about without two kids and a hubby by my side!</p>
<p>Disappointed that Roxy’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck from Food Network’s Food Truck Race just happened to break down on Friday Night and was in for repairs until Monday - thank goodness I found out following them via Twitter…nothing another visit won’t remedy!</p>
<p>We did stop at Mike’s Pastry for cannolis before our trek home…mistook Modern Pastry for Mike’s at first, as Modern Pastry also had a line out the door…can anyone share their experiences between the two bakeries? I hear they are both known for their cannolis but was curious how they differed.</p>
<p>The lack of diversity we read about had also been a previous concern …son has made friends of many cultures and various regions around the US, as well as from areas near his home region. We are vey blessed that he has been able to immerse himself into different social and cultural groups, and he is learning more about various cultures from signing up for different organizations different from his own background. I’m glad that he took my advice that you don’t have to be a specific background to join a particular group, but that it was a great avenue to meet a variety of people and learn more about different cultures. </p>
<p>If you’ve made it this far, thank you for your patience and for all the support and guidance. We had a fantastic weekend and look forward to all the BC adventures ahead! As you can see, I can’t say enough about Boston College!</p>