<p>My senior D has been napping, and it’s helped a lot. Instead of having TV-flake time before homework, some days she just sleeps for two whole hours, and then she’s full of energy and gets lots done.</p>
<p>But now she’s starting the fall play and isn’t getting home until 6 or so, so the sleep deprivation will begin…</p>
<p>My daughter also naps in the afternoon. This use to drive me crazy, but I now see that it rejuvenates her to get her homework done and wake up at 6 AM in a decent mood. She made a good decision to turn down a part-time job this fall, and seems to be handling things okay. My older daughter was much more dramatic. I remember a major meltdown the week before she heard from her ED school. I find that it is helpful to be available while they are working on applications. If they hit a snag, you can help out so they don’t get frustrated.</p>
<p>I think another stressor is the atmosphere with the other kids at school. They are all discussing class rank, scores, and college lists constantly. I agree with others that the first acceptance really helps reduce stress.</p>
<p>Oh, those discussions of rank and GPA are killers. Od1 tells me people are practically drawing blood in the fight for top 5% (we don’t have val/sal).</p>
<p>Fall semester of senior year, I walked into my journalism professor’s classroom during homeroom one day and just started crying. She sent me home and I cried on and off (mostly on) for a long weekend. Took a few days off from school. Mom was really freaked out, had know idea what to do because all I could tell her was that I had no idea why I was crying. That was the truth, too. I just couldn’t stop. But, you know, eventually I did and things went on. Sometimes you just need a breather.</p>