<p>There was an article in today’s Boston Globe discussing the adjustments for parents dealing with college students who are just home for the summer. The article mentions that the summer after freshman year is the hardest. (Hopefully)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2005/06/30/rules_change_when_college_kids_parents_become_housemates/[/url]”>http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2005/06/30/rules_change_when_college_kids_parents_become_housemates/</a></p>
<p>I never had any issues with my parents when I came home during the summers. I always started work the week after I got home, and we pretty much work on oppisate schedules. Many nights I wouldn’t get home from work untill 11PM and my parents would already be in bed. I never (not even in high school) had to wake my parents when I got home. </p>
<p>Before I had a cell phone (high school), I would simply leave a note on the fridge saying I’m at jane doe’s house, here is her number. and I’d just leave. No asking permission or anything, as long as I left a note saying where I was going it was fine. No questions asked. If I was driving, I only had my junior license then, I had to be in by 11:00. (PA law). If someone older was driving, I could come home whenever. No curfew. It worked out fine and I never got into trouble. Things are the same way with my little sister and cousin that live here.</p>
<p>Once I graduated high school and had my own cell phone, I just left a note saying “I’m out with friends”… they didn’t need to know who, or where, because I had my cell phone if they needed to contact me. This is still our system today. Also, if my parents are going somewhere, they’ll leave us a note too… it’s just how we work things around here.</p>
<p>One day last month I was at my friends house till 2:00 AM. Apparently my mom woke up at 2 and realized I wasn’t home yet, so she called my cell to make sure I was alright. After that she asked me to write i’ll be back late if i was staying out that late, haha. </p>
<p>As far as cleaning and food are concerned, we’ve always put up notes if we want food and we agree as a family what is for dinner… and we do the whole “clean up after yourself” thing. No assigned chores or anything… if you notice the trash is full, take it out. If your room is a mess, clean it up. If you got something out in the living room, clean it up. We also take turns vacumning and dusting the house. </p>
<p>I’d say we get along really well… especially since there are 7 of us here between the ages of 6 and 46.</p>