<p>En route to Ann Arbor yesterday (s. moved in) saw the best bumper sticker and I do indeed want one (with gender changed):
“My daughter and my money go to Michigan” : )</p>
<p>Wait until the December holidays…and then ask your college kiddo for a sweatshirt or mug as a holiday present. Our kids were more than happy to get those for us as gifts…they never seemed to have gift ideas for us otherwise!!</p>
<p>Good idea! I’ve looked at the bookstore website for the affliliated university and they carry all kinds of track clothing and even UnderArmor, which will make great gifts for her younger brother, who plays soccer and runs track in high school. If D is really lazy, she can even order them on line and have them sent on ahead! I found a really nice polarfleece pullover in the music school bookstore- hint…hint…</p>
<p>Yes, Thumper - that’s what my kids do. My D wears her Juilliard sweatshirt at Miami, and my S has a bright red Miami U fleece sweatshirt for NYC!</p>
<p>As far as bumper stickers, I only have a Miami U decal - it was red and white, just like my Mini!</p>
<p>We HAVE car decals from DS’s grad school and DD’s undergrad, but the only ones that have found their way to the car are the ones from Boston University. </p>
<p>My favorite sweatshirt is one DD bought for me. My “Fighting Pickles” commuter mug (from DS) is the best. We have coffee mugs from all of the colleges. All gifts from the kiddos!!</p>
<p>OK, thumper, I’ll be the one to volunteer- WHAT is a fighting pickle???</p>
<p>Thanks Mezzo, I was wondering about that too!</p>
<p>Well, we didn’t get shirts or mugs when we dropped our violinist daughter off at IU. But classes have been in session all week and so far, so good (I think). She has recovered from her hives completely; she’s made friends, although I’m not sure who they are, yet. She hasn’t communicated much with us. We got a short email from her that she is 3rd chair, chamber orchestra, but we’re not sure how she feels about that–if that is a good thing or not such a good thing! Hope everyone else’s kids are settling in as well.</p>
<p>I’m not much for the schwag, but I’m considering maybe a coffee mug or “Mom of…” item. </p>
<p>The way I would counter the prohibition on “Mom of…” in favor of generic school shirt it to say “Honey, you know how well I sing/play/compose - think about it - wouldn’t you rather keep me at arm’s length from the awesome reputation of your school? Isn’t it better that I be ‘Mom of…’ rather than give anyone the idea that I am a product of YOUR school?” … </p>
<p>See how that flies :)</p>
<p>I should have pasted this earlier, but I was too busy doing it to talk much about it.</p>
<p>Obviously you can’t order a favorite comfort stuffy from home, or a pile of your special family zucchini bread, but pretty much everything else can be ordered and shipped, and we found that to be the cheaper option <em>by</em>far_ than buying something here in Indiana and shipping it to New York. Even Parcel Post is dear. We’re doing our fair share of shipping, as our kid is in Manhattan, so there is no such thing as finding someone with a car and making a quick trip to anywhere to pick up anything bulky.</p>
<p>A particular win - Office Depot: $50 worth of order gets the items delivered for FREE (love that price) to the kid the next day, with few exceptions. If your item is an exception, they’ll pick up the overnight. That is how my kid got all of her sundry school supplies the next day, and a single box of staples delivered to her door the following day, no charge. They cover a lot of a student’s needs, and that free shipping on a relatively small order is the deal-sealer for us. Staples has the same deal going - we just happened to use Office Depot this time.</p>
<p>I want to second the quality of Sorels, at least pre-2000 ones (I have no experience with the post-takeover kind). I am still wearing the first pair I ever bought, going on 25 years and counting. There is nothing worn, or worn-looking, about them - not even the removable felt lining. Neither fashion-forward nor frumpy, they pass the test of time in every way.</p>
<p>Please keep those suggestions coming!</p>