<p>Well, what a fun thread! It’s hard to brag like this IRL! DS#1 graduated from Swarthmore with High Honors in '07, and is currently in his second year of a Ph.D. program at the U. of Chicago, studying political science, specifically International Relations and Security Issues. He is fully funded by the university and we don’t pay a dime. 
DS #'s 2 & 3 are twins in their junior year of high school. They are talented musicians and mensches. One is talking about medical school and one is talking about Broadway. I think our college trips will be interesting.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from Rice cum laude in 2007 (vocal performance), worked for a year and is now in graduate school at Vanderbilt. She is a Postulant for the Episcopal Priesthood. She got married in June, which was fun and exciting. My son in law is a new doctor and doing his residency at Vandy.
I’m not going to talk about WildChild here because he has become too recognizable, but he appears to be heading for law school (college junior now) as opposed to lawlessness!! We are also now cautiously optimistic that he can resume the sport he was supposed to be doing in college (after 3 years of injury and surgeries), although it won’t be in time for undergrad competition.</p>
<p>D1 is a wonderful fourth grade teacher who adores children and cannot wait to become a mom herself. She did her undergrad at an Ivy and her grad school here in Canada. She’s probably the D who is most like me! She’s an animal lover and I have no doubt that she’ll have a houseful of animals someday, just like I do!</p>
<p>D2 is a working actor and playwright who has supported herself from the day she graduated from Tisch. (Fingers crossed that it continues! ;)) She’s a voracious reader; she played soccer from age 5 til 21, the last eight years at an elite level; she’s an accomplished pianist but sadly doesn’t get the chance to play much anymore.</p>
<p>D3 is in her last year at U of Toronto as an English/Spanish double major and is in the process of grad school applications. Although she has worked part-time during school and summers for the past two years as a translator, I think that we may have another teacher in the family with this one. She’s not definite yet about her final career path.</p>
<p>D4 just started her first year in life sciences, also at U of T, after a gap year. During h/s, she went through a diagnosis of cancer and more than two years of treatment so the year off was a measure to ensure that she was ready physically and psychologically for college. Her combined hours at two United Way agencies last year worked out to be virtually a full-time job. She hopes to be a family doctor. I hope she fulfills her dream, but to be honest, we are just so grateful to have her still with us that anything more than that is secondary. She also played soccer but ‘retired’ last year.</p>
<p>D5 is our niece whom we have raised. She just started law school this month. She has volunteered/worked during her undergrad summers doing the kind of work she hopes to make her career someday - social justice, human rights. She’s done pro bono project work, immigration and refugee submissions, legal intake work at a clinic that serves women who have been victims of violence. One summer she spent two months in Kenya teaching and assisting in community projects. Oh my, a community organizer! 
She, like D2, is a fabulous soccer player. She still plays and also coaches Under8s every summer.</p>
<p>How funny to find this thread. I was just thinking to myself five minutes ago that my 16yo is the nicest person in the entire family. I was at a mtg and came home to a clean kitchen. He had loaded and started the dishwasher. Isn’t he a dear? He’s always been an incredibly easy kid.</p>
<p>The second boy is a joy as well. The mtg I was at tonight was for middle school football parents. I met the new coach afterward, and he said that my son is so mature and focused. “He’s not one of the loud ones,” the coach said. "But he’s the first one with a pat on a teammate’s shoulder, saying ‘Good job.’ " I thought that was so sweet of him to say.</p>
<p>Oh, and they are no slouches in the academic dept either. But tonight, their character seems to be the first thing on my mind.</p>
<p>Everyone’s kids sound great. :)</p>
<p>oops- double post</p>
<p>My D has a great sense of humour, is kind, is sweet, and cares very much about social justice and the environment. She’s very creative in lots of ways, and has a cool and quirky perspective on the world. She’s an independent thinker and doer, and has always marched confidently to the beat of her own drum. She’s surmounted a lot of challenges in life but is the most resilient person I’ve known. She loves her friends and is a good friend. She has found her passion in a variety of different activities and enjoys them immensly. She does very well in a competitive school environment because she’s bright and loves what she’s studying, but I admire that she’s disinterested in grades, awards, others’ expectations, or how she stacks up. </p>
<p>She looks “good on paper” too, but I am most proud about the kind of person she’s become.</p>
<p>Sounds like a few other families like mine with a big age gap.</p>
<p>D1 is a sophmore at U of South Carolina honors college studying Intl bus. and finance. She had a 4.0 last year, participated in a lot of great EC’s, and joined a sorority. We were a little worried that her HS success (valedictorian) may be harder to come by in college, but that hasn’t been the case. She is even more dedicated than ever to meeting her goals.</p>
<p>D2 just started 3rd grade. She is very bright just like D1, and extremely outgoing. She loves to practice flirting, particularly on high school boys. She is trying to figure out which sport is her passion, so right now she is doing golf, tennis, gymnastics and diving. Not sure what her passion will be as long as it’s not the high school boys. She has decided that she wants to be the first female President, so watch for her in 35 years!</p>
<p>D3 just started 1st grade. She is my pleaser, and is the smartest of all three of my girls. She continues to amaze everyone with her photographic memory and love of math. She has been playing the piano for 1 1/2 years, and was so excited to have her first lesson yestereday after taking the summer off due to a surgically repaired broken arm. </p>
<p>I really miss D1, but I can’t imagine not having the other two. I’m not ready to be done with the “mom thing” just yet!</p>
<p>S1, in Oklahoma who originally thought he wanted to be a Lake Ranger (going around checking fishing licenses) is now 24 and a licensed, employed Paramedic…who knew!!!</p>
<p>S2, graduated from HS in June and enrolled in a certificate program at a local SoCal CC for Travel and Airline Careers. He had some slight learning disabilities and barely graduated with a 3.0. He was always the most personable of the 3 and a true Pisces! He begins his training at the airport with a major airline tomorrow…on 9/11! </p>
<p>S3, Sr at at SoCal performing arts high school is diligently working on college apps. with a bit of an “unconventional” path. He is applying to colleges where he can study renewable and sustainable energy and musical theatre.</p>
<p>3 great boys…3 very different journeys. What a joy it is as a parent to watch them blossom :)</p>
<p>My big brag of the day -</p>
<p>My D has started this semester more committed to maintaining a healthy(er) lifestyle (good diet, sleep, exercize, time sitting under a tree - the whole balanced life thang). I hope it continues but I’m just happy the little **** realizes on some level that she can keep the wick burning without lighting the whole darn candle on fire all the time.</p>
<p>S is a summa cum laude BM ('07) viola performance major from a noted conservatory program. He has a tenured chair in a regional orchestra and is teaching privately and in a studio type program. He also has a close to full time day job that allows him tremendous flexibility to arrange his schedule around teaching, gigs, rehearsals and auditions. He is actively auditioning for a higher level chair, and is applying for grad school as an MM candidate.
Like binx and thumper1, we hope for the best.</p>
<p>D is a high honors grad from a niche school with an '07 AS in an animal care discipline. Her path is best served by the associates and a couple of cetificate programs rather than a BA or BS. She is a FT supervisor at a boarding/day care dog facility, and has a second job assisting in a vet’s practice.</p>
<p>Both are living at home, but are self supporting.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all proud parents.</p>
<p>Would love to read about how did you all do to “make” all these wonderful children.</p>
<p>How great to find and read this thread!</p>
<p>I will start with my youngest:</p>
<p>d is a senior at Barnard, doing fantastic and is looking at grad schools for neuroscience…we hope (and she does at well) that she lands at Emory. We miss her!</p>
<p>s2 has been married one year and his band has finally completed their first full-length album. They are currently dealing with attorneys and contract-negotiations and such, but hopefully the thing will be released before the end of the year (fingers crossed and many, many prayers said!)</p>
<p>s1 has been happily married now for 4 years and teaches British lit in HS…and loves his job. AND (I saved the best for last), he and his wife are expecting their first child (our first GRANDCHILD!!!) in April. Wahoo!</p>
<p>Big shout out to Curmudgeon on that one!</p>
<p>DS called last night walking home from his recreational swim class. “Wow, this makes me feel so good!” Said he was trying to channel (no pun intended) Michael Phelps in the Michigan pool.</p>
<p>Title of his last email was “Balance”.</p>
<p>
Ain’t it grand? Maybe just maybe these hard chargers won’t end up eating themselves. We can only hope.</p>
<p>This is a refreshing change from the politics.</p>
<p>H and I only have 1 child and she is a freshman at her dream school, NYU. She is in the College of Arts and Science as a pre-med with an undecided major of Italian/art History/Environmental science. She is very artistic, in fact up until 11th grade she wanted to go to Rhode Island School of Design for commercial design. It was ironic however, because she persued the sciences fervently all throughout her school years. The turning point was when she volunteered at a Nature Center(hated bugs, crawly creatures, etc)and a whole new world opened up to her very close and personal. After that she really started to assess the environment, ecology and our impact on the environment. She became a vegetarian and became passionate about “green issues”. Her HS years she took all AP classes and Honors, plays the flute, speaks Italian really well, involved in all sorts of EC’s and ranked 4/155. Beside all that she has worked as Camp Counselor in the summers, and up until school started had a job for a large gym franchise. She did an Internship at the Norwalk Maritime Museum during her senior year in HS. With all that said, she does like to party in the sense that she likes to go out Friday and Saturday nights and hang with friends, movies, dinner, starbucks, etc.
She is a night animal and really tough to get up in the morning. So I hope she is making all her early classes on time.
Thank you for letting me brag about my beautiful daughter, who I really miss.</p>
<p>I love this forum. It really is wonderful to be able to talk about something good and about great kids in a world full of negative news. My daughter is presently entering her third year at the U of Chicago, which was her dream school. She never felt challenged in high school and was somewhat shy and withdrawn at that time. She has really blossomed into a tremendous young woman at Chicago, having made many friends, doing lots of activities (including three choirs, the Russian Choir, Rockefeller Chapel Choir and the Motet Choir ), enjoying all that the city of Chicago has to offer and still getting deans list and high honors every quarter so far. She is kind, compassionate,thoughtful, without prejudice of any kind and an all out great daughter and person. I feel fortunate to call her my child.</p>
<p>Wow, pmrlcomm, a kindergartener. Lucky you–it’s such a fun age!</p>
<p>Three kids here. DS is 24, working for an investment bank in a city in the northeast, and completely self-supporting. He definitely had his ups and downs in the past, but he finally got his act together. I’m so proud of him.</p>
<p>D1 is 21 and will graduate with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering in the spring. She hopes to find a job in the alternative energy field. She’s the captain of her university’s varsity volleyball team this year, and H and I love traveling to watch her play. We know we’ll be going through volleyball withdrawal when she graduates.</p>
<p>D2 is a college sophomore majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a minor in music. She sings in several groups at her university, including its a cappella group, and she’s had several leading roles in musical theatre. She recently won a university scholarship for private voice study with an instructor at a conservatory in the city. </p>
<p>Oh, how I miss them…:(</p>
<p>DD has already done laundry twice this semester - so there, try and top that!!!</p>
<p>Great idea! D1 is back for her jr. year and excited about her classes. She has had good academic success making Dean’s List while continuing her college sport. Had a wonderful paid internship over the summer and hopes to find an OOS internship for next year. </p>
<p>D2 is off and running for her sr. year in HS. She is captain of her sports team and they are having good success. She is my quiet one but her social life has been very crazy lately…good, but I hope she stays with her studies!!! She has verballed to her college of choice and is very excited and relieved to be done with the college app process.</p>
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<p>Game, Set, Match.</p>