<p>Oh, come on GMTplus7- That was so last August! He has moved on!</p>
<p>@Chloes: I think my kids would have been mortified/embarrassed/paranoid if they had seen this thread before attending BS. Now that they are halfway through and almost done, I think they would just roll their eyes and say something like “Parents lose it when their kids leave.”
But really, I don’t think this is on their radars anymore. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the additions, fellow BS survivors! I concur on most (not necessarily choice of music though). I have added some to my playlist, but I’m with Choatiemom – it doesn’t get much better than blasting BEEGEES. For shame. </p>
<p>Charger78, we’re right there with you! And as for improved relationships – yes, yes, YES! I listen to local parents complain about their surly/lazy/defiant/you-name-it teen(s) and have to bite my tongue about how great my relationships are with my engaged, motivated, interesting kids, “In addition, time together tends to be FUN…we enjoy each other in a way we never did.” Absolutely. </p>
<p>I was even ready for them to leave come August (a clean house, manageable grocery bills, peace and quiet…).</p>
<p>Still, it’s great to laugh, but it’s not like I really ever stop missing them. Had to add that for newbies who may think we’re hardened :)</p>
<p>A friend of mine who is the father of my best friend when my wife and I were starting to consider boarding schools made the following point --that Americans keep teenagers in the house when they are extremely unpleasant to be around and then once they emerge from teenager-hood and are wonderful to be around we send them away to college-- when in reality, if we were smart-- we would send them away as teenagers and have them back when they get older. haha–but he has a point.</p>
<p>Best. Thread. Ever. I am actually laughing out loud at many of the posts. I am pretty sure I might even have gone away to school with at least one of you! LOL Such a nice, positive and fun post. Thank you WCMOM1958.</p>
<p>^Thanks, London :)</p>
<p>One more: cheaper driving expenses (insurance, gas, etc.) In our state, insurance for kids who are only home some of the year is MUCH cheaper. Worth looking into.</p>
<p>My parents will probably want to add less sibling fights once I go. My older brother (now at college) and I were always the main instigators of any squabbles :)</p>
<p>And, even though you know they are doing it, you don’t have to SEE the eye-rolling!</p>
<p>Having some of the weight of responsibility lifted a little. And it’s nice having them easier in their relationship with you.</p>
<p>This is just what I needed to quell some of my angst about my son leaving this summer for 9th grade. I will not miss listening to my son’s music and constantly asking him if they are speaking english…seriously. Listened to an entire song and had NO idea what they were talking about…none.</p>
<p>Wow, I am so glad I found this thread. My only daughter will be going to BS in the fall and I am coming down from the high of last week’s acceptances and starting to think about what life at home will be like without her. I’m a single parent, (with a pretty good sense of humor), so I really appreciate these posts and will re-read them when I start feeling the effects of the empty nest.
Now, I just need to stockpile some snappy comebacks for whenever I get “the looks”. You know, those judging looks you get from people who don’t know much about prep schools-- and when they hear your kid is attending one they immediately assume:
a) that you are a secret criminal and have the profits from your illegal activities hidden under your mattress. (No, actually, my kid is a hardworking student and will be on FA)
b) that your kid must have done something really awful to make you send her away (No, actually, I am thrilled that she has worked so hard and accomplished this for herself… to attend school where she will have so many more opportunities and experiences than in our rural public school)
and c) the look of disdain that goes with their remark “Oh, WE have a GOOD relationship with our son/daughter. We could NEVER do that to him/her.” (No, actually, I think I’ve done a great job of supporting her through this process and I am thrilled for her, though I will be a weepy mess come September.)
Is there a thread for this kind of thing? Because I find myself losing patience with acquaintances, colleagues and even friends who I had always thought of as reasonable, educated people… and whose responses are really becoming rather annoying. I am so relieved to have found all of you wonderfully supportive parents on CC who are so open and willing to share. This is such a great resource and I am look forward to connecting with you often as we move forward. Many thanks to you all! : )</p>
<p>^^^ Cameo, there is another thread about reactions of others, just scroll through the pages and it will be pretty obvious which from the title. Congrats on getting through a demanding process and obtaining the result your daughter was looking for! The best is yet to come, though there are challenging realities along the way and for a few BS does not meet expectations. Hope CC continues to help in preparing for September.</p>
<p>I. Love. Thriftshop!!! (Can I have your coat? No Really…why Thankyou!) </p>
<p>My DD will even admit that Mom knows something about thrifting. (Know something - heck, wrote the book!) </p>
<p>Right before the kids took it into their heads to research boarding schools, a colleague said to me “it’s really nice when they come home and you spend dinner talking about How to Fix The World instead of have you done your homework”. I didn’t want to believe it, even though I come from several generations of boarding school. I was so invested in making things work for them - school involvement, running their sports leagues, coaching their teams, etc etc. But the colleague was right, and thank god the kids decided they wanted to get the process rolling. </p>
<p>Also we have reposessed their room, and once the 18 year old graduates from school uniforms and takes her clothes with her to college, I’m taking the closet too. Yeeah!</p>
<p>BS benefit #99: Greater opportunities for parents to get their freak on (or, is it just me?).</p>
<p>I appreciate…</p>
<p>…far fewer (still have one at home!) wet towels on the bathroom floor, along with whatever the towel user had on before the shower;
…a sharp reduction in stinky shoe odor wafting throughout the house
…nagging reduced to only the stuff I know about and can relay through email, which isn’t much
…more space in our modestly sized house (dang those teenage boys take up a lot of room!)
…being able to stick to a station wagon rather than being forced kicking and screaming into buying a minivan to haul boys AND gear everywhere
…way better and more honest talk on the phone and those long car trips home than I suspect we would have had with the irritation that comes with daily face-to-face contact.</p>
<p>The other evening my husband came home late after a long day at work- music still blaring, every light in the house blazing and the kitchen looking like a bomb went off. He tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Have we met?” ( my secret pleasure right there ).</p>
<p>It’s sad to see this break come to an end, but I’m happy I’m not alone loving Thrift Shop!</p>
<p>(Maybe our poor dog will stop hiding under the sofa now- I’m sure it’s been slightly traumatic for her after so many months of peace and quiet! I think the same can be said for PhotographerDad… )</p>
<p>Hope everyone has a safe journey back to school- looks like a little more snow is on the way!</p>
<p>Our dog has to go on a diet after the kids go back to school. It seems they like to share their junk food with the poor old dog.
Now that the kids are drivers, as are all of their friends, it’s nice to have my driveway back instead of it looking like a used car lot.
I must admit I miss all the traffic and teenage laughter throughout the house now that they’re gone. Not to mention the dog hates me right now.</p>
<p>Great thread!</p>
<p>My eldest is a BS graduate and is now in college, and much closer to home which is SO nice. I still miss having a kid at BS. I have one that will be a senior at the local high school next year and one will be a freshman. I would love to send the youngest as a sophomore but he is extremely resistant to the idea.</p>
<p>My secret pleasures were, no nagging, better relationship with extremely quiet S, getting to send him care packages, less dishes!</p>
<p>ChoatieKid is an only child and ChoatieDad travels all week, so I have a lot of “me” time. I sometimes even feel a wicked bit single. I watch the movies I want to watch, eat the foods I want to eat, have all the covers to myself, enjoy lovely silence in the clean house, and read uninterrupted for hours and hours and hours. I can also indulge in CC without ChoatieKid saying, "Mom you have GOT to get off that forum, it’s creeping me out. You don’t KNOW those people, and I HATE it when my friends tell me what you’re ranting about!!! To which I reply, tell them to get off CC and study!</p>
<p>For me, the ability to focus on the one child still living at home is a huge upside. I never knew just how much this would ease the stress of shuttling two kids around between two working parents. I think it’s an upside for both kids. Also…absence makes the heart grow fonder (or at least more forgiving?) — noticed a significant decrease in bickering between siblings and between parents & kids.</p>
<p>@ChoatieMom,
lol, and by any chance does ChoatieKid have a thousand-plus tenuously defined “friends” on Facebook who can follow ChoatieKid’s activities? ;)</p>