<p>With me, I am not sure if it was when we finished submitting the last freaking form, when we received the bill from Oberlin, when I paid the bill, or yesterday when my son received his dorm and roommate assignment. Less than a month and it is orientation!</p>
<p>Frankly, you don’t know they are gone…until they are gone.</p>
<p>Until the text comes to put more money in his bank account!</p>
<p>and now he’s about to enter his senior year at Oberlin! I feel as though my agonizing over pre-screenings, recordings, auditions, logistics and results was literally ten minutes ago. Now I’m thinking: “And what DOES one do with a jazz performance degree?” </p>
<p>Seriously, if ANYONE will do something with it, it will be my resourceful boy! I hope…</p>
<p><<<<<still in denial.</p>
<p>SJTH: What does one do with a performance degree?</p>
<p>You continue to worry about "pre-screenings, recordings, auditions, logistics and results " Only more so.</p>
<p>I’ll let him get through his first year as a composition major before worrying about whether he does the fifth year conducting master’s and to what Ph.D programs he applies. :)</p>
<p>It sure is coming up. Bill paid, roommate assigned, now looking at books for his classes. Bought a bathroom caddy the other day…3 more weeks for us.</p>
<p>I think S has not yet really realized himself that he is going. He’s been in a kind of state of denial about it, getting him to think about shopping and organizing things has been difficult. And I’m trying to not freak out because he is (sort of, quietly) freaking out. I think we both may be slow, but I suspect when we get in the car to drive to Appleton after Labor Day is when it’s going to really hit.</p>
<p>We only have 1 1/2 weeks to go - it’s really soon! S was out of the country for a couple of weeks earlier in the summer, and I guess it was a good trial - because honestly I was pretty anxious, thinking about the big move the whole time, and now I sort of know what to expect: somewhat nutty behavior from me, very little communication from him. 
Very much looking forward to Thanksgiving!</p>
<p>Given that this is our third child (and youngest) and that our son will be local, I am not having the usual pre-college jitters that I had with my other two. But what is hitting me is all the "last"s. We only have two more lessons with his private teachers (one classical, one jazz). I have been driving our son to lessons for so many years and I can’t believe that is about to come to an end. I will no longer be updated on my son’s musical progress or hear the final 5-10 minutes of his lessons. </p>
<p>Today I made my son mad though. Once a week I will be in the neighborhood where his school is and I sometimes joke that I will stop by to say hi. He made it very clear that this was NOT going to happen.</p>
<p>StacJip, I bet your son will be happy to see you for lunch or whatever after he’s settled in.</p>
<p>I am trying not to freak out at the idea of my son going to college. He is my only child, so I really will have an empty nest. He is going September 1, so it’s coming up fast!</p>
<p>I think my son didn’t realize it until he was there. For weeks before he started we tried to get him to pack, the night before he left he stayed up the entire night partying and I don’t think he even started to get his stuff together until about 6am and he had to leave no later than 7:30 that morning to make it on time (he had to be their by 9am to report for marching band). </p>
<p>I was planning on following him to college to help him drop his stuff off at his dorm before he had to go to band practice (the dorms were only open for one hour for dropoff), I was so mad that he stayed up all night partying that at 7 when he came pounding on my bedroom door I told him that was his problem and just to call me when he got there.</p>
<p>Imagep, aww, you are so logical in these forums, so I’m was puzzled at first to read your response with your son for staying up all night, but then I thought about it and realized you were likely also stressing out because your baby was going and you could no longer help him meander through all of life’s little challenges. The interesting thing is he probably made it work even by pushing his packing to the last minute and then you likely realized even more that he will make it without you, so that is a painful realization too as a parent. We want them to need us, but we don’t, but we do, and as they start taking the steps to leave our nests, they make us sad/mad/glad/crazy.</p>
<p>My youngest leaves for college in a few weeks and he’s looking so forward to it … I will be very sad that last week in August, but I know this is what he needs and wants.</p>
<p>Just yesterday I was dropping her off at Oberlin for her freshman year, and yesterday, as a rising junior, we had a long conversation about grad school visitations and teachers. Time is flying by. She is getting sooo old. I am finding that the 20 year old mark really was an eye opener for me and I am making a conscious effort to “let go” on a higher level.</p>
<p>Yesterday I came across my son’s cabin photograph during his first summer at Interlochen. I tried to remember what his musical goals were back then. But I think then it wasn’t so much about goals, but having fun. Striving for goals would come later.</p>
<p>When D had her last lesson with her teacher of five years last week, and asked if she could take lessons at Christmas break. He said no, not unless she gets specific permission from her new teacher, because he doesn’t want to interfere. But that she can come back and play duets with him!</p>
<p>Taking all her public library books back over the weekend was the other wake-up call.</p>
<p>Today is my son’s last lesson with his private teacher. It is bittersweet for me. In nice weather I will miss sitting on his porch listening to my son and him play or discuss music. But for my son it is not such a big deal as he will see this teacher as his teacher will be on his campus frequently.</p>
<p>He has his last lesson with his classical teacher this week as well and that will be a bigger deal as he probably won’t see him that often. </p>
<p>Lots of transitions. DD just started graduate school this week as well.</p>
<p>I cried all the way home dropping DS off freshman year EIGHT years ago now.
(I really have to get a life other than CC!)</p>
<p>He’s a FT public music teacher who plays multiple instrument whenever he can fit them in and is loving his life. </p>
<p>We’re in the small music world just outside NYC and son has remained close with almost ALL his former teachers and mentors in NJ and CT, which I find very cool.</p>
<p>Best to all newly launched music students just starting out. Parents, really it will go fast!</p>
<p>I was looking over his conservatory orientation schedule and getting really overwhelmed with all the “stuff”. The day after con orientation is freshman (regular student) orientation, so for me there are two days of activities. It’s hitting me…just over a week to go.</p>