<p>It was great seeing my son. I think he grew another 1/2 ". Although he spent significant time with friends, we had time for good conversation and shopping (which he hates, but needed clothes). My poor D wasn’t home- she is freezing her buttinsky off in Russia (high, 10 degrees, one foot of snow, no plowing or shoveling).</p>
<p>It’s nice to see all these reports of good visits. My D could not come home - too far away from NYC to small town Texas - and she actually had classes into the afternoon on Wednesday. We talked, texted, FB chatted and skyped, more than normal, and it turned into a good weekend for us both. She had Thanksgiving lunch cooked by RAs and served to those who stayed in the dorm (no dining halls open for four days). She saw some old friends who live in the NYC area and who were home for the holidays. She had tons of homework, including a major presentation today. Had she come home, she would have been stressed to get the work done and would have spent most of her time in the air or waiting in airports. Being apart was hard on me, and probably on her, too, but it was the right thing to do. Can’t wait until she comes home in three weeks!</p>
<p>Ah yes, dufay, that reminds me. Who else had children who grew or otherwise changed shape in the last few months?</p>
<p>All D’s high school friends told her she got taller and more muscular since August. She had had a growth spurt at the end of summer, which required shopping. It seems she has grown some more, and so we had to go clothes shopping again. Ugh–we’re already strapped with tuition! She didn’t weigh herself, but I’m guessing the extra half inch of height and new muscle has added some weight.</p>
<p>My son has probably gained 5 lbs, you can mostly see it in the face. What is very funny is that at home he was a very picky eater (including not liking chocolate). Now he even eats sushi and says if the ice cream machine is out of vanilla he eats chocolate.</p>
<p>Ds1 had to buy some new dress pants for work this week because he left his at school. The new pants are two inches bigger in the waist and an inch longer in the inseam. </p>
<p>Ds2 has been growing like a weed so we were sure he’d be taller than ds1, but he isn’t. Turns out ds1 did some growing at college. Guess ds2 will have to wait until spring break to see if he’ll pass him up.</p>
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<p>Similar experience here. D1 turned 21 right before Thanksgiving break, her best friend at home turned 21 over break. It was weird hearing D1 say “I’m going out to a bar with BFF tonight for her birthday”. It seems like yesterday that these girls were in 3rd grade together.</p>
<p>S got home on Monday evening and stuck like glue to his little (11th grade) sister through Tuesday. He even attended track practice with her. (It didn’t hurt that the team greeted him like a rock star. :rolleyes:)</p>
<p>For the rest of the weekend he bounced back and forth between family obligations and HS friend gatherings. </p>
<p>He said multiple times that he was glad to be home and misses us (but not in a desparate way). He left via airplane at 8:00 am sunday. 
But, not for long. He comes back Dec 11 for four weeks. :)</p>
<p>I’m curious whether or not anyone had his or her student eat 'em out of house and home? My son, who is a sophomore, did not come home from school as he had tickets to a football game. But he already has promised to clean out the 'frig when he comes home in 12 days. He also has a list of what dinners he hopes we will make – all his favorites that he cannot get at college.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, my S inhaled T Day dinner … his THIRD of the week, having already had one in the dorm and another in a frat. Plus, he was reeling off all his favorite dinners he’d like to eat when he comes back in December. More specifically, he’d like meals with more spice, more meat (not chicken) and less pasta. Oh, and sushi, yes but he’s been loving that since elementary school.</p>
<p>My son has wonderful food at his university- I wouldn’t mind staying eating at their food court on a regular basis! He loves sushi, so our favorite Japanese restaurant was the special night.
Re: clothes- he changed his attire from sweats/track pants to jeans, flannel. I haven’t seen him in jeans since he was 4 years old!</p>
<p>dufay, ds claims that the food is only that good when you’re dropping off your kid and parents’ weekend. He worked in the dining hall and said there was a noticeable uptick in quality when they knew parents would be around! lol</p>
<p>We had a perfectly lovely holiday weekend with D1. Some trepidation beforehand due to all those stories we’d heard about how you never see your college freshman over the holidays because they spend all their time with friends, and/or come back feeling that they’ve grown up in the few weeks they’ve been away and you don’t really understand them anymore. We had none of that. D1 was just as sweet as could be, truly happy to be home for a few days, and genuinely enjoyed our company—as we did hers. It helped that most of her closest friends (including the BF) were out of town for one reason or another, and that we cooked many of her favorite dishes (which made D2, a HS sophomore, a little grumpy about what she saw as favoritism, even though we’ve tilted our meal planning decidedly in the direction of D2’s favorites while D1’s been away). She also appreciated having her own room back, and not having to share with a roommate. Also said she had forgotten how much more comfortable her own bed is than the college-issued one. She has grown up a little, but entirely in a positive way—noticeably more responsible, and appreciative, and more considerate of others. It was a joy to share the holiday with her, and gave us much to be thankful for.</p>
<p>I have to echo everything bclintonk said, above (#32). Our experience was very similar but witihout the grumpy High Schooler. Our High Schooler (D3) was jsut fine with the “favoritism” toward D2. D1 just didn’t care. :)</p>