<p>Same here- S1 was always the difficult child, gave me my grey hair before his senior year, and made his father bald during the senior year. Now, he is the good child and D1 may not live long enough to go to college. If I speak I get this sassy reply or "How stupid can you be" look. Yet I hear her on the phone with friends and the voice is totally different, so sweet. At least I know the daughter I gave birth to will return in a year or so!!</p>
<p>I must admitted that since Son got into Yale, he has developed a bad case of senioritis which I have been on his case about. I had the chance to talk to his guidance counselor who said that this was perfectly normal in high achieving kids. As he explained it, they feel as if they have crossed the finish line of a race and are taking a victory lap after winning the event. Besides unless he dramatically fails all his classes or commits a felony, colleges are not going to recind acceptance notices.</p>
<p>I am sorry so many are going through this. We are experiencing something that may seem simplistic but it could help. Our son, already finished for the summer, is doing hard manual labor for a summer job--landscape work. It uses up all that extra tension and energy and he has become, if anything, more soft-spoken and friendly--more adult. Maybe you can push the young men, especially, with all their testosterone over-drive, into some sort of regular physical labor.</p>
<p>Just a thought. Read Tolstoy's short story "The Kruetzer Sonata." He thought something similar was going on.</p>
<p>
[quote]
they feel as if they have crossed the finish line of a race and are taking a victory lap after winning the event.
[/quote]
love the analogy!!</p>
<p>My D was anxious about finding a summer job (finally came through yesterday). I hope it eases the tension. I find that I am the recipient of many scornful looks and exasperated sighs. I get the feeling she can't wait to get out of the house. I guess this is Mother Nature's way of making her eager to leave and me ready to see her go, but it hurts.</p>
<p>My just graduated S took a job as a sailing coach an hour away from our house, so he is living with friends of ours 5 days a week, only returning home on Mon. and Tues. He had been somewhat of a turd the last semester, not being himself at all, definitely suffering from senioritis. But, now that he has been away for the last couple of weeks, he has been a joy when he comes home. He is full of news of the kids in the program, and enjoys sharing stories about his job. He has probably spoken more to us in the last two weeks than in the previous 3 months. I think it is dawning on him that he is leaving soon.</p>
<p>I just noticed an ad from one of the sponsors for an "uprising HS senior." I know they mean a rising HS senior, but it does seem an apt term for many rising college freshmen ;).</p>