<p>I’m going nuts with the packing. I know myself well enough to appreciate that my control issues make it such that it’s better for me to pack – just bring me what you want packed. Well last night I thought D was demonstrating wonderfully mature restraint and good sense. But in my heart I knew that she was going to have Round Two of the To Pack piles. She’s off savoring a little more time with BF, but I had to call her and insist that she didn’t need 17 band tee shirts and 10 high school tee shirts (but I sleep in those, she says) in addition to the other shirts. We compromised. But I have miles to go before I sleep. We leave Thursday for school which is about 3 1/2 hours away by car(s). I’m grumpy.</p>
<p>I’m now grumpy! D2 skyped H when he was on computer…he is NEVER on when I’m not home!!! I was out at happy hour with a friend who just dropped off her S (oldest) today. She was very teary!!! Waiting to see if D2 comes back online. Harumph…</p>
<p>Space Bags: O-h m - y w - o - r - d! The jumbo sized space bag is almost as big as the queen bed in our guest room! Seriously… I could feasibly put in my entire linen closet. I am tempted to try. </p>
<p>Money: Son is going to school with money that he earned this summer. He will get by but he will need to be frugal. However, my sister knows that my son, unlike his sisters, can be bribed (albeit in a very ethical sort of way). With no children of her own, she has apparently promised him a fairly healthy stipend per semester for final grades of A’s and even B’s. Let me just say that we have never, ever paid or even rewarded our kids for good grades. It’s not like they are expected per say, but it is expected that they will work hard. In any event, we’ll see how well her carrot works. She has determined that if he gets straight A’s, he deserves the break and if he gets B’s he’ll still afford a pretty good time. If he gets C’s, than he’ll have lots of time available to study cuz he’ll be broke. Kidding, kind of. The bottom line is, it won’t be crucial to having a great time, but it would be nice.</p>
<p>Roommates are chatting it up in a “lounge” on facebook. Remember the days when you may have gotten your roommate’s name but didn’t even speak until the day you met face to face? Well, at least that’s the way it was for me.</p>
<p>Finally got D’s dorm assignment today. All is right with the world so far. Got the roommate/double room/theme she was hoping for. Schedule is to her liking, she’s made friends already…now we watch her h.s. friends leave one by one and wait for her turn. Things are looking like they will be going smoothly at least at this point in time. </p>
<p>Good luck to all launching this week!</p>
<p>Here’s something we don’t have to think about anymore. Remember setting up the stereo - the big speakers, the turntable, the tape deck, and the rack that held it all…now, the iPod that takes up what, 2% of the space that the stereo took up?</p>
<p>Waiting to see how D2’s last roommate fits in. 3 of the 4 in the apartment are freshman athletes all on the same team. The 4th is a SENIOR non-athlete. The freshman will have been in the apartment for over a month before roomie arrives. Should be VERY interesting as the girls have everything in place and a schedule down pat. Makes me nervous!!! Especially with a senior who is being placed with no roomie!!!</p>
<p>A senior with no roommate? hmm… what do we know about this girl? Am I the only one who sees a red flag here?</p>
<p>Exactly!!! ALthough I do hope I am wrong to prejudge!!!</p>
<p>DOn’t prejudge. Maybe she had other housing that fell through. It can happen. What ishe wasn’t goint to come back, and was able to at the last minute. It could be one of any number of things.</p>
<p>And imagine being her and ending up with three freshman who already have formed a bond with sports etc.</p>
<p>The senior will be fine. She will be busy and the younger girls will be lucky if they even see her I bet.</p>
<p>On the hopeful chance that with ilovetoquilt has to say is true (could you have chosen a longer screen name? :-), it could be a great thing. A senior knows all the ins and outs of all kinds of things. Knows where everything is, etc. So I will suggest that the girls welcome her with a pretty open mind… maybe bake (or hold back) some of the cookies mom is bringing. Look to her as a knowledgeable source and maybe the friendship will evolve or, if worse case scenario, mutual respect (a valuable life lesson applicable in a host of situations). </p>
<p>Still… I will be looking forward to hearing how that one goes.</p>
<p>My first roommate was a senior…she was a mean young woman with no redeeming qualities.</p>
<p>BUT, I have a friend whose D lived off campus last year with three other girls. The girls went their separate ways at the last minute and she was left a senior with no roommate. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her. But she did get a single.</p>
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<p>Probably not exactly the most positive outlook that’s needed here. :)!</p>
<p>Howdy all! A week from Thursday is move in for my two. The only shopping that remains is the toiletries, laundry detergent, and unessential fun stuff. </p>
<p>Both DDs have made contackt with their roommates though TwinK’s is not as communicative as TwinE’s.</p>
<p>Supportive hugs to all who need them. Best wishes to all our kids!</p>
<p>uhhh that was contact not contackt…sheesh</p>
<p>Just checking in after reading all your “launch stories”. D is off noon Thurs by plane for band (camp is off-campus) and we follow by car to move her in on Sat. Will see her briefly on Sun when she gets back with the band for a brief time. Thought my good by would be at the airport but she begged us to stay until Sun for a “real good bye”. My living room looks like Target annex. I have never spent so much time and money there as we did yesterday but it was fun. I’m with Zetesis re: packing. She will be in Berkeley where the temp is 70 and she insists on a load of tank tops and sun dresses cause “that’s what she likes to wear”; maybe until she freezes. She says if there is no room for all her stuff we can bring some home. Going into a triple space will be at a premium, especially since she has had 2 rooms for the past few years since my son left home and one she has used as a closet!</p>
<p>For all you guys with girls who love to overpack, consider those space-saving hangers. They had them at target and you can get these clip things so you can hang several “tiers” in one space. Because I hang just about everything, including t-shirts, I am hoping they will help son. It is so much easier to hang than fold. No matter how many times I’ve tried to teach son how to fold clothes, his learning curve has proven to be steep in this regard. So, better than those white plastic hangers that take up a lot of space, he’ll hopefully be able to hang more and have to fold less.</p>
<p>So I just read a few chapters of “Letting Go” and it is so right on target. But I still don’t get why with T-minus one week to leaving, D still insists its too early to start packing and doesn’t even want to begin to address tackling the room. I asked if it was a metaphor for her not wanting to deal with leaving but was assured that was not it. I know I will feel so much better once it’s all over and done with but this leaving coming up and hanging over my head is killing me.</p>
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<p>But I did counter my own negative experience with the story of my friend’s D who is in the same situation due to no fault of her own. My guess is that they’ll probably see the senior roommate rarely because she’ll have her own life and her own friends. </p>
<p>What surprises me about the Housing Department putting a senior with three freshman is that the senior may well be old enough to drink legally - shouldn’t the Housing Department worry that for some freshmen, a roomate who can buy beer legally would be the ideal roommate (for all the wrong reasons)? For the most part, schools seem to be more protective of their freshmen than when we were in school.</p>
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<p>I’m with you jptmom. We are T minus 48 hours and I have given up on the room. That’s what winter break is for. (I know I’m kidding myself but something had to give…) And the stuff we packed on Sunday, which gave me great comfort to see it all folded and in closed boxes, bags, etc.? She dug through it on Monday to get the perfect outfit for a concert Monday night. Sigh.</p>
<p>It is what it is. It is what it is. It is what it is.</p>
<p>jptmom, I really wanted S to clean out his room before he left. I nagged half the summer until I realized it was just too much transition for him at one time. Packing up old books, toys and clothing was stressing him out more than I thought it would. He straightened things up, but found only one Tshirt from the entire room that he could part with. Oh well, at least I can get in to vacuum now.</p>
<p>Transition has always been difficult for him and I just decided to let him have “his space” to come home to at break. </p>
<p>Remains to be seen how this approach will work, of course.</p>