<p>SAC:</p>
<p>I'm storing all this for my "I am terse" guy. :)</p>
<p>Marite,
I would say this is a situation where having "low expectations" can really pay off! My son never seemed to be able to drop pre-addressed, pre-stamped, pre-written post cards in a mailbox on previous "away from home" experiences. Hence, I knew that while he can be eloquent, I would likely not be the recipient of his largesse. His periodic e-mails have been funny. The phone calls which I initiate have been productive. He sometimes "dishes" with his brother on IM...knowing full well the brother will spill to me. All in all, in spite of the distance, I think it is "fine."</p>
<p>I finallly heard from him (IM) and he's feeling better, made it through exams in 3 classes, and never went to the clinic. I survived his first illness.</p>
<p>Over30:</p>
<p>Glad to know that he's feeling better, and so are you!</p>
<p>Marite, if your son goes to a college nearby (which is likely), you may not have to (store this)...:)</p>
<p>Achat:</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words, but I'm not counting any chickens.<br>
There are some schools on S's list that are futher away, too.</p>
<p>Well, me and my daughter are heading off to see one of the ones who "never calls, never writes" at UChicago. I haven't been to Chicago for 25 years. Should be an interesting trip. My husband is going to stay home with the other two girls. The six year old just learned how to call me on my cell phone a few days ago, and whenever I leave the house she calls me every five minutes or so asking "how many minutes until you get home?" I went to a middle school function last night and when I took my cell phone out of my pocket there were six "missed messages" from her in one hour. Wonder how she'll handle the weekend separation. . .</p>
<p>I love this thread! It is just what I am going through! S has been gone a month-haven't even seen him and he's only 45 minutes away. Occasional e-mail. He called the other day-after at 9 am, my brain was elsewhere and after four hi's between us,
I said "who is this?" and he said "it's me!"....After a hardy laugh, he decided maybe he should call a little more often. He has been so busy with school, frat, clubs, intamurals that he doesn't have much extra time. He got more involved than he ever anticipated. It is a good thing I guess, at least he "fit in". After a difficult month for me, I realize he is changing and I am happy that he is happy and I guess I did my parenting job OK. Our children grow up and that is our ultimate goal. Yeah!!</p>
<p>Our son is on a four day weekend "mid semester break" right now.
He's off visiting friends in New England for two days then will grace our home for the other two. Sigh. He's happy and good natured when we DO hear from him but we are definetely on his back burner now.</p>
<p>So, I'll watch the World Series with his little sister instead but still wish he was here too.</p>
<p>Just got back from family day at UCSD. We took our other 2 children with us this time to see their big brother in college. Had a great time. Took him to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things then to Smart and Final to get him stocked up on food!!! I know he has only been there a month but it seems like alot longer than that. He even looked different. We went out to eat and I think that was his first complete full meal he has had since he left home!! He seems to be doing just fine. I know we are proud of him, as we come from a very small town and was wondering how he would do in such a big setting. But he seems to be managing very well. The only thing is was he wanted a hair cut!! Here at home he has always gone to a barber shop and gotten a haircut for about $6.00. He hasn't found one there. The only thing he has found are the salons. He just wanted a barber. So we took him to super cuts today and he got his hair cut. Yes!!!! No more side burns. Maybe that is why he looked so different. Anyway it was a very good visit, and we couldn't be prouder!!</p>
<p>Yes, the hair!</p>
<p>Our S rolled into town last night; he has a long mid-semester break weekend.
As he was wandering up to bed, he mumbled "maybe I'll find a haircut tomorrow". Yeah! I was trying not to make a deal out of his very shaggy locks. I really think it was non-access to a barber rather then a deliberate choice!</p>
<p>Rono_g: Aren't you a student? I smell a rat.</p>
<p>Even if this is a student, it is an important issue that should not be minimized. Now that our kids are not directly under our radar screen, we should be sure they are sensitive to issues such as HIV, date rape, alcohol poisoning, attacks while walking alone at night, theft if they leave their rooms unlocked, etc. They tend to think they are invincible at this age. They are not.</p>
<p>Back to the CMU D's saga about wanting me to bring warm clothes to family weekend!She's attending a perfect match school for HER! She recently discovered through a mutual friend at CMU that one can get a complete winter wardrobe at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop in town for bout $20.00. I never thought I'd see the day for that! She was always very practical, but this takes the cake! No wonder she didn't like Georgia Tech with all the blue-eyed "Southern Belles" she claims were dressed to the nines! I realize now she would have been very unhappy there. GO Tartans!</p>
<p>I have spent time on the Ga Tech campus, and I have not seen any of the girls dressed to the nines!! Typical wardrobe remains the t-shirt and slacks as on most campuses. Maybe the day your daughter was there there was some event going on, or there was a frat party or something. The type of girl that selects Tech is not the type that shops at Talbot's. Tech girls are far from preppie. And Tech has a very international student body. The "southern" girls are in the minority. I am originally from the northeast, but have lived in Atlanta for a long time. My son applied to Tech as his safe school. He spent a summer on the Tech campus attending a biology program. The students were more like MIT students than UGA students. I can see the UGA girls dressing up. Not the Tecchies.</p>
<p>jym626: Agree with you completely. I read rono_g's post recently on the thread about the girl who had a crush on her RA. It seems too short a time between the alleged encounter and receiving results of an HIV test. Some people have a warped sense of humor (?)</p>
<p>What happened to Rono_g's post?? It seems to have disappeared...... Hmmm.....</p>
<p>In re: to my CMU daughter, you see her idea of dressing to the nines is a skirt or a pair of pants that does not contain holes or frayed bottoms. Sorry I did not make myself perfectly clear! She stayed overnight in a girl's dorm room for GA Tech's visitation weekend. If her roomate got up in the morning and put on make-up, uh-oh. as her idea of getting prepared for the day is washing your face, brushing your teeth, and pulling your hair back into a pony. It is all relative..I suppose.</p>
<p>I just got back from "family weekend" at S's school. It turned out to be a very nice trip, and we spent hours on Sat. and Sun. with him. It was a good time to visit. There were lots of us old fogies around, so my son seemed okay with me and his sister being there, up until Mon., when he definitely was ready to say good bye. That was okay, since he did spend much more time with us on the weekend than I expected. (Having low expectations as to how much time he would want to spend with us really paid off here!) He seems to fit in well so far, seems to be grooming himself better there than he did at home. He seems to have good relationships with the kids in his dorm, and with some girls, even. I was somewhat relieved that his roommate is kind of messy--so they match in that regard. I did pick up a few things off the floor, but restrained myself from doing too much, as S thinks that kind of behaviour is very embarrassing. </p>
<p>It was pouring rain when we got there, so one of our first stops was to buy umbrellas at Target. It turned out we didn't need them. The sun came out in the early afternoon and for the next couple of days it was pleasantly warm and beautiful--some of the best weather they've had this fall! We left S with an umbrella for the rain which is sure to come. </p>
<p>Anyway, I am reassured that he seems happy there, so far, though it has only been about five weeks. The math is hard, he says. I think that is the first time I've heard him say that about math. The physics is not that hard (so far). He just turned in his first humanities paper, so that could cause some anxiety. I don't know how his writing stacks up there. I hope he doesn't get too discouraged if the grade is low. (I still remember how my first grade on a college paper sent me reeling. . .)</p>
<p>The university has made some changes since I was there 25 years ago (gee how could it be that long ago?). One noteable change is the new orange dorm they built right next to the library. Bright orange bricks with vivid purple and blue frames around the windows in the midst of all the gray buildings. S says he thinks the University was trying to "brighten things up." Takes some getting used to! </p>
<p>I probably won't hear too much from him now until Christmas break. Glad I was able to visit!</p>
<p>What college did you visit? I am trying to compare our first visitation experience to yours...sounds very familiar...the next few visits we had with our one S because of all the "picking up" I did yielded a clean dorm room the following few years! I think they call it "avoidant" conditioning!</p>