<p>kathiep: Lucky us! I especially enjoy that the longer break occurs at this time of year. It tones down the usually hectic holiday craziness. Our older child had just two weeks of winter break. It seems that each academic calendar has a flip side - S's alma mater (UMich) finished the year by the end of April. We had two long summers with him before he found other locales to work/intern.</p>
<p>Update:
Grad school D came home last night with large duffle filled with dirty laundry.decided she needed those clothes anyway,was swamped with end of semester work and the machines at "home" are free.But she did say she'll do the washing herself!
Also as a sign of maturity I guess, she reconfigured plans so Sunday (today) is all ours so tree and trimmings can be accomplished!!
She's really too old for a curfew,22 and living away from home for going on 5 years now.But the courtesy of phone calls rules,waking us to let us know shes in the house, and if she has one of our vehicles (hers is in her new home city) she needs to respect the rules of whether it is needed home at a certain time for others use and needs to amend her plans accordingly.</p>
<p>Cathymee, my grad school D, age 23, also seems more understanding and considerate. I think that by that age, they don't feel so defensive about their independence, and having been away much longer, also seem to value family time more.</p>