<p>I just returned from moving my daughter into her house. She had to be there early for house president training so we pretty much had the campus to ourselves. The renovations are almost complete and everything looks fantastic! The Ansel Adams display is not to be missed!
We did our usual week long road trip, stopping in New York for a few days, then acting like tourists in Northampton. Always alot of fun!
It dawned on me as I left my daughter at the Campus Center that this would be the last move-in trip to Smith. Could that be?? Is she really a senior?? It can't be!
These past years have gone by so quickly and yet have held so much. It truly has been an amazing journey so far for my daughter.
She has already begun work on her thesis and law school apps. I know this is my last Parent Weekend. I have reservations for Commencement. I know all of this, but I really can't process it. I think I'm just not ready for her to leave Smith.</p>
<p>Moodle, not a mom of a soon-to-be Smith alum, but as a Smith alum myself (and a mom of a soon-to-be-first year at another fine institution), I feel your pain! Even though I graduated MANY years ago, I distinctly recall the feelings I had returning to campus my senior year. I had been away for all of my junior year (like TD's daughter) and couldn't wait to be back on campus again. But that "final return" weighed heavy on me because all of my Smith years had been so wonderful, and I wasn't sure I was ready to leave, and even less sure of what path I would take from there. </p>
<p>There is simply no place like Smith. Going back for my reunion in May re-affirmed that. The good news is that your daughter will always be a part of Smith and will be at home and welcomed back there, forever, no matter where her post college life takes her! All the best to both of you!</p>
<p>Yeah, I have a bit of tristesse as well. Looking forward to Family Weekend...which is "next month" as of Saturday. Ulp. And D is already wading deep into her post-graduation options and paperwork, some of which is just the beginning of a long road, multi-step process.</p>
<p>I think she's itchy to get back. This <em>could</em> have something to do with getting back to a community of peers whose hours are every bit as irregular as hers and her schedule becoming totally her own again.</p>
<p>Ah. And that was my 5,000th post. Fitting that it should be in a Smith thread.</p>
<p>I just returned home to Maryland having just delivered my daughter for her first year at Smith. Her mom and I thought that we would cry upon departure this morning but Smith is such a special place that our happiness for our daughter dwarfed our sadness. We look forward to returning to Northampton in the upcoming years.</p>
<p>Mine flew back and arrived Saturday to begin her Kahn Fellowship, and hasn't called me even once! Boo-hoo!</p>
<p>
[quote]
...but Smith is such a special place that our happiness for our daughter dwarfed our sadness. We look forward to returning to Northampton in the upcoming years.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeppers. (10 char.)</p>
<p>dad2011..I felt exactly the same way when I left my daughter there for the first time.</p>
<p>mini..you know she's happy and busy, but still!! </p>
<p>cattv..thank you for the encouraging words. I really am excited for my daughter as she begins her Senior Year. My bank account disagrees, but I think I would like for her to stick around for another year or two at Smith!!
I'm not ready to graduate!!</p>
<p>TheDad..congrats on your 5000th!</p>
<p>Moodle, as great as Smith is, or more accurately because Smith does a great job, as much as I love Smith, I can see that it will be time for D to be moving on.</p>
<p>One of the nice advantages of Smith re the bank account is that they insist that students get their degrees in four years. Okay, it's a bit of a rationalization but with many UC students taking 5 years, it lessens the effective cost gap. Some. A little.</p>
<p>The trickle-in continues. Dropped D at the airport this morning, her flight left a little over an hour late after needing a mechanical difficulty fixed. Hope they didn't use duct tape. Layover in Chicago is now a little tight but not too bad.</p>
<p>It gets easier every time. D commented on the difference of attitudes between people she knows on-line returning to college and those going off for the first time. For the former, it's "I'm BACK!!!"</p>
<p>Maybe they used chewing gum, TD.</p>
<p>I've been here for four days and I love it. I've finished pre-o, met with my advisor, picked my classes, and have been asked to be a pre-o leader for next year. I love my house, my friends, and the campus though the mail and bookstore lady leave much to be desired. ;)</p>
<p>
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Moodle, as great as Smith is, or more accurately because Smith does a great job, as much as I love Smith, I can see that it will be time for D to be moving on.
[/quote]
I ran this by D over dinner last night. Her response is that you don't outgrow Smith but that Smith grows you....</p>
<p>Yeah, the mail lady can be a real...handful. One of them is nice and one is just crabby. And ALL the bookstore women are crabby. It's also pretty lame that they don't hire students at the bookstore, yet another reason why the bookstore is fairly lame.</p>
<p>No students employed at the bookstore? That's...odd. I wonder why.</p>
<p>It's because our bookstore is contracted to Follet and not operated by Smith, and Follet decided they didn't want to hire students. So we have crabby old ladies instead.</p>