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<p>Thanks for posting! What a great idea. And, although I suspect S will think that whole “a new themed box every month” is too cutesy, I think it’s cool ;)</p>
<p>What about if the kid is going to a college which is not a reasonable driving distance? Would it be better to ship all that stuff, or buy it locally when he/she gets to the new location? </p>
<p>I know someone started a thread about this, which I meant to read, but now I forget what/where it is…</p>
<p>Coptermom – cute idea! How about a medicine chest? Bandaids, cold meds, chapstick, Motrin, cough drops…</p>
<p>coptermom - even tho I am trying to keep my # posts down (to hide my addiction from myself), I had to say what a great post that is!</p>
<p>We are in the (minority?) of folks who do not have separation anxiety - we are just all 3 (DH, DS and me) high on the independence scale. But I love your idea as a way to prepare some of the logistics and just enjoy the process. Thanks!</p>
<p>Dr. Drews - we will be flying also and I can see buying it there. I’m kind of thinking of flying in one day ahead of S and H and doing the shopping thing then picking them up at the airport at the end of the day. Unless they want to come for the extra day (they wil NOT want to shop 
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<p>How about a stress reduction and/or healthy relationship/safety box? I can recommend some books if you’re interested.</p>
<p>Coptermom, I have been tear free to date. Largely I think because she hasn’t decided so it’s not real. We fly tonight to an admit day way across the country. If she chooses this school I am going to need to send a “real winter” box, with gloves, a hat, a scarf, and waterproof shoes. But what she would actually like is an “it’s all too much” box, with a set of Buffy or Angel CDs, her high school yearbook, pictures of her much-loved very young cousins, and a new copy of Pride and Prejudice, along with a subscription to US Weekly. </p>
<p>So although I am still tear-free, I find my heart is beating very fast all the time. Thanks for the boxes idea - at least it will distract me.</p>
<p>Copter, I love these ideas!!</p>
<p>How about a “safety” month with flashlight, emergency calling card, AAA membership, mace (?!)</p>
<p>Maybe a “Communications” month with a cell plan and a phone? Or one of those little key-sized thingys that plugs into your computer, then you save all your work, then bring it to the library or wherever and plug in to a different computer? I am a Luddite but Radio Shack has them and they are about $40.</p>
<p>A “Health” month with precsriptions & over the counter medical stuff, first aid kit…</p>
<p>And of course there’s the “Sleep” month with the egg crate & the Twin XL sheets!</p>
<p>In the GO TO CLASS box–make sure there’s an alarm clock or clock radio.</p>
<p>Wow, Coptermom–I’m in awe. It’s an honor to share even part of a name with you. :)</p>
<p>There are so many great ideas for future “Boxes” I may need to add a few more months. Maybe D will postpone starting school until second semester! 
Thanks for the suggestions!</p>
<p>Huh…I wonder if my parents will feel this way come the Fall?</p>
<p>I doubt it. When my sister went away to college they didn’t really show any emotion like this, they just said their goodbyes and we drove back home.</p>
<p>Course my sister came home a year later but that’s a different story.</p>
<p>Coptermom:
what about a box with things to make the dorm room smell good? Like, candles (if they have rules about lighting them, you can always put them on a cup-warmer and let them melt), plug-ins, spray, etc.</p>
<p>These are all great ideas. One thing I would add to the “safety” box - a chain ladder for those who may be housed on the second floor or above. I wouldn’t have even thought of it, but my aunt told me just this morning that a fraternity house had recently burned and one of the boys talked about using a chain ladder to escape from his second floor room. His parents had purchased it and given it to him when he went away to college. He said he originally laughed and thought he would never have use for such a thing, but called his parents immediately after to thank them for giving it to him.</p>
<p>hmmm - careful with the candles in on-campus housing…most schools have really cracked down in recent years - some say you cannot even have candles in the building at all…I guess it is just a short trip from using them in a cup-warmer to "I’ll just burn it for a few minutes - who will know…? to a horrible tragedy.</p>
<p>Isn’t it just heartbreaking? </p>
<p>We have a routine! I wake him up in the morning…twice. He always says “have a good day, Mom” as he leaves and I’m in the kitchen, packing his sister’s lunch. </p>
<p>Hmmm…come to think of it, we don’t see each other much more than that. He’s out by 8am…back by 11pm. </p>
<p>Maybe this won’t be so different.</p>
<p>Momsdream,</p>
<p>LOL (or cry out loud) that sound so familiar! I was just saying to H that we will probably communicate with and see S when he is in college than at present!</p>
<p>momofthree…it’s the truth!</p>
<p>Thanks again to everyone for new ideas for Ds monthly college box!</p>
<p>I didn’t know if D was enjoying getting said boxes as much as I was enjoying putting them together until last week when the clock hit 11p.m. and I got a little hint from her as in -“It’s the 25th Mom.” I’m thinking - OK.? “It’s the 25TH Mom…college box day?” :)</p>
<p>Luckily I had one. I used so many of your ideas to put together a stress buster box! She especially liked the egg crate mattress pad and a selection of aroma therapy lotions (No candles or room fragrances until she knows if her new roommate is sensitive to these things). I also included a very small electric fan to supply white noise hoping to cover background dorm sounds that will always be there…and if that doesn’t help - earplugs!
Also, while she would have enjoyed a full set of Shakespeares plays and sonnets, I wanted to include things to get her out of the dorm room and moving around to change her focus from the ‘all work mode’. I put in a frisbee, a small kite (which I feared would go over like a lead balloon ) and bottles of bubbles. ((Come to think of it - I guess she really wouldn’t have to leave her dorm to use these - I just hope she will! </p>
<p>Thanks again for the help!</p>
<p>Nop candles, please. The house of an acquaintance of ours burned down as a result of his S falling asleep with the candle alight. The dad ran in to rescue the sleeping kids and got third-degree burns over a very substantial part of his body, including his hands. He has to have therapy for 18 months.</p>
<p>There definitely won’t be any candles packed in her boxes. They’re not allowed to burn candles in they’re rooms and having experienced a dorm fire myself in college (someone set the trash chutes on fire) wouldn’t have included them even tho’ Jar candles make a nice air freshener- just stated it badly in the listing. I was coming from the "Hey what if Ds future roommate has fragrance/allergy issues. :)</p>
<p>Great idea!! It also is a help with the transitioning that you are part of the planning for the first year away. D and I had so much fun going to pick out things, trying to figure out what would work well in the dorm, etc. When you are chatting on the phone when they call those first few weeks, you then can find out how well the planning worked, if she is using things, and who she met when people came to borrow the tools or share snacks. You can picture it all, and it keeps the connection to some extent. </p>
<p>How about a “container” month. Everything from the bathroom bucket, to little containers for soap/toothbrush/etc, to plastic underbed storage drawers, plastic boxes to stash snacks, caddies for the desk supplies you’ve gotten–you get the idea! Our D has used many different containers, and we’ll be getting more for our S.</p>
<p>Another idea is a “memory” box. Things for a camera that she may have, some acrylic frames, little photo albums, etc. for her to keep pics of family and friends.</p>
<p>I know that our S will not as much “fun” to shop with as our D, but we are planning to pick out things early in the summer!</p>
<p>As for letting go…I am far more sad at the “last” things at school, with sports teams, and the ceremonies. I had a good cry on the way home from taking D to college, and I probably will with S1 this fall, but they don’t want me doing it in front of roommates–too embarrassing!</p>