I work on a college campus but not the one where my son is a freshman. I was walking behind two girls on Monday and one was saying in that “Moms say the darndest things” voice “My Mom texted me to have a Happy Eclipse Day.” The other said “My Mom texted me to make sure to wear my eclipse glasses.” I chuckled to myself because I’d texted BOTH of those things to my son that morning!
I’m a big texter with my daughters (post-college age), but my son is less of a texter and I miss him terribly. He’s gracious about it, though, and doesn’t feel pressed if I text him. He mentioned that he is worried about not waking up with his alarm, so we agreed that he would text me in the morning the word “up” and if I didn’t get that for the first weeks, I was to call him just in case. We’ll see how it goes.
@zoosermom I had that same “up” arrangement with one of mine! He eventually became reliable on his own but still asked for the backup for test and exam days.
@MaineLonghorn it sure is hard to wait those difficult days out though, especially when your kid is far away and bawling on the phone, text, or Skype. I agree though, these strong negative emotions do tend to pass.
@my-3-sons , did that resolve before your son was 30?
Haha! Slightly, although early morning flights with this one still make me nervous.
I have to hold back texting updates of Big Brother because that’s our summer show and it’s not finished yet. I’m on west coast and now he’s on the east coast so I’m tempted to ask if he saw it and get his input on the episode. Of course he’s so busy right now that he usually texts back “don’t tell me what happened, I haven’t watched it yet.” This is his second year and he traveled back alone so we didn’t have the typical gut wrenching good bye like last year. I actually didn’t go overboard texting during his first year. I had a group chat streak on messenger with him and a couple of other people so that’s how I mainly stayed in touch with him, shared articles, memes and gifs…it was great.
I did get pictures of his new dorm room via text when I requested. And then there were the texts asking where he should place his shower caddy and washcloth while he’s in the shower :-/
My D and I text a few times a week when the mood strikes. She actually called (and left a voicemail when I didnt answer) the other day to say “Just wanted to tell you I love you Mom in case the world ends with the eclipse today”. She has a great sense of humor. My S, communication with him is more painful than pulling teeth.
My D has been gone since the 14th, I’ve only texted her three times. One was she had a question about text books, the second one was to tell her I transferred money to her debit card to buy the text books, and then last night she texted me to ask what her overall HS GPA was.
My wife and younger D on the other hand I think have texted or Face-timed a few times. My D is not a big poster on social media so I did ask her to every once in a while post a picture to Instagram so her Grandmother could see what she’s up to. Luckily some of the friends she’s made so far have been posting and tagging her in photos so we’ve been able to get a glimpse of what she was up due during welcome week.
My youngest hasn’t left yet so I don’t know how he will be. My oldest and middle sons are 23 (graduated) and 21 (senior) and they both call/text regularly. I was worried when the oldest left for college but he stayed in touch with us. He was playing football so he wanted to give us all the news about what the coaches told him, how he was progressing, etc. My middle son went into hiding for a short period when he first started college but it only lasted a few weeks. Now he calls us all the time as he is running between his paid job, classes, and internship.
I feel very happy that my adult kids still want to keep in touch with us.
Move-in day was Monday for my D and it was hard to make the 15-hour drive home by myself. So far we’ve texted a few times/day. There are so many more things I want to ask but her orientation is all week and the days are packed.It was nice to hear her voice though today as she walked through campus trying to find her way around. I don’t think she’ll mind regular updates but we’ll see. She’s my first to go away and I think she knows I want to hear how it’s going.
My oldest just moved to his first post college apartment. It’s like college x 10 for me. At least in college I knew he’d be around kids his age in a supportive environment. Now he’s just out there. I know he’s thrilled, but I’m worried about him making friends, maybe a girlfriend, is he lonely? He doesn’t really reply to texts much, but since we live so close - 64 mi to be exact, he’s happy for us to come by and bring him stuff and take him out to eat.
My fairly no ncommunicative son still frustrates me. Days ago he texted that he was back from Europe. I text back about the nice pictures, was it a good trip, and no reply. Why couldn’t he have added an adjective or 2 when he first texted?
My S has been out of college and on his own for over 2 years now and I still text him a quick “how’s it going?” once a week. Although, post grad, I don’t worry about where he is because I know he’s chained to a desk in his office for most of the day, lol.
@eyemamom I worry about my S’s social well being, too. Hoping both of our boys strike a balance between work and social life and are able to meaningful friendships/relationships.
My older two text frequently but youngest, who left Sunday for sophomore year, rarely stays in touch. I do miss the daily interactions. When I do break down and text, most are answered with “fine”, “yes”, or “no”. lol. At least this year I know no news is good news with him.