<p>receiving good messages, texts and calls. She is being pretty good and seems happy. will hear today how classes went.
I keep thinking of you in California with those fires!
Forgive my martha Stewartlessness, whats the best way to pack, send, and the most mailable cookies.? When I feel alittle better I would like to send some.</p>
<p>Finally had a more than 5 word conversation with daughter. I texted “so I gather your schedule is fine”, and she called me back. Teehee.</p>
<p>Seems schedule is good, one class she isn’t thrilled with, but I suspect it will be better than she thinks. But the times are fine, so that nice.</p>
<p>She and her roommates were laughing at how they are all “key challenged” with those old dorm room looks. She is already known at the schools post office for boxes received. Sigh.</p>
<p>Up here in northern california,no flames, thank heavens. WOrking on curtains for Ds old room. Making it a bit more gender neutral, think urban country french.</p>
<p>Dealing with three really old dogs, wondering who is going to go first, keeps me from thinking too much about the empty nest. Off to free museum day tomorrow.</p>
<p>As for sending the cookies, I use those flat rate boxes from the post office. 10 bucks or so and you can put quite a lot in the box. Sometimes I just use ziplock bags for the cookies.</p>
<p>WHat I did learn was to make more, smaller cookies. Easier for everyone to have a taste and less hands in the box. Also, I have sent mini funfetti cupcakes. Seem to be a big hit.</p>
<p>thanks for the info</p>
<p>Down to Earth–the crispy-ish cookies tend to do well–not brittle, but like chocolate chip, peanut butter–lemon bars, not so much. Pack them with a lot of paper towels around them for cushioning. How are you feeling?</p>
<p>I beg and borrow empty grocery store cookie blister packs from friends and neighbors to send cookies in. I fill them and then pack them in a box. Seems to work well! I really like the Target ones.</p>
<p>Twisted-
Sounds like the tears tomorrow will be from exhaustion!</p>
<p>Hey Twisted–we are all on your team!!! hang in there. I did notice many many multigenerational families at the parent orientation last week. grandma’ three sibs parents and aunts all for one offspring. The only ones I felt badly for were the 3 and 4 year olds I saw. otherwise, the school was accommadating and it was sweet that the student is so loved–just a way to think about it when you are super stressed tomorrow. But please don’t leave us yet–we all want to hear about at least your first week. Of course, I am the mom of a S who answers my texts but with the barest of info. I did ask if he was fine or great and he answered great–so all is well.
Have a good move!</p>
<p>My daughter doesn’t leave for 2 weeks yet but she is absolutely irrationally freaking out about going to school. What if she doesn’t make friends, how will she know if they’re her friends, what if she’s not good enough for her major, what if she made a mistake, maybe she should have gone to a different school to which she was admitted, on and on and on. I know it’s nerves and she’ll be fine once she’s there but it’s becoming a nightly conversation and very draining on both of us. Since most of her friends have left already and are in the midst of orientation or even classes she doesn’t want to burden them with her thoughts so she has no friends to commiserate with. This means she builds it up in her mind and I get all the grief at night. Ugh - two weeks can’t come quickly enough.</p>
<p>Quarter to 1am, everything except my clothes and my personal belongings (ie the very few things that didn’t need to be purchased) are packed. I have to finish packing, frost the cookies I baked for my roommate, shower, and do my hair before I can go to bed. Uggggh. My back aches from leaning over boxes all evening. Now that things are packed it looks like a lot less but I am still afraid it’s too much stuff. I really didn’t feel like I bought that much that wasn’t essential but maybe I did. It doesn’t help that my bedding takes up like four garbage bags by itself, that makes it look like a lot more. Weeee’ll see. Hopefully I get some sleep tonight, none last night. Mom can’t go to sleep until I do because the items to be packed are piled in her room and dad already went to bed, which caused an argument between them that I hope won’t carry into tomorrow-- the three of us got into an argument at orientation and it really wasn’t any fun. Hopefully since I am bringing boyfriend’s birthday present (along with boyfriend–hell if I am lugging crap up stairs while he still has two arms!) my family will get the hint not to hang around too long after lunch, we are all going to need a nap!</p>
<p>One week in, D is desperately homesick and unhappy. She HATES it. She begged to come home even before we left her there. We finally struck a deal that she’ll stick it out for a semester, and then re-evaluate. She’s resigned to that and is viewing this semester as basically a prison sentence which will be served as of Dec. 18. </p>
<p>If she leaves, her options are going to be severely limited, because her aid of course won’t transfer, and without that we can’t afford to send her anywhere except our local CSU. Drowning in her loneliness, she doesn’t care about that right now; she just wants out. We’ve been working with the administration behind her back to try to get her drawn in to school life, and they have been wonderful, but I’m afraid it may already be too late. Her determination to come home hardens with each day. But I’m fervently praying that she’ll fall back in love with the school. If she leaves after a semester, I just know she’ll regret it for the rest of her life. :(</p>
<p>Also, just so you know, 7 hours before move in I have LOST my only Umich shirt-- which I have barely taken off all summer. I am furious.</p>
<p>And my camera battery charger. It is now 3am, 5 hours til move in. Cookies still aren’t frosted and I haven’t showered. At this rate I don’t think I’ll go to bed. Everyone else is sleeping. I am not going to bed until I find my stupid charger.</p>
<p>I’ll echo “ilovetoquilt” about the flat rate boxes - at first, $10.35 sounds like a lot but you can put a lot in the boxes, and up to 70lb weight limit. Today’s box is a case of Bear Naked granola bars I found at the Costco by my mom’s (no Costco here), a locker ladder for her athletic center locker, and a few bags of Craisins, the weight adds up.</p>
<p>First college meet today!!! It will be strange not being there, but we will be there in Scot spirit I guess…it has been a pretty interesting transition for D going from one of the “top bananas” to one in a seven-strong recruiting class in the middle of the pack, but she is getting close to the other freshmen on the team and they will be quite the group once they get a couple of years together.</p>
<p>LasMa - I hope things improve for your D</p>
<p>LasMa - How awful. It is heartening to know that admin is willing to work with you. Don’t forget however, that we usually hear the worst and worry about it endlessly while the kids are already off on to something new. I truly hope that is the case.</p>
<p>Zetesis - How are you doing today? I watched the news last night about the fires. Unbelieveable…</p>
<p>Amtc, I guess that is a downside of being one of the last to leave…more time for anxiety, and heaven forbid if her friends at other schools aren’t loving it…does she have a job? Maybe she could get some overtime to keep you all sane.</p>
<p>LasMa, so sorry to hear about your D. I think it was good that back in the day, the way we communicated with our parents was through expensive (thus short) long distance phone calls…My mother was spared most of my first semester misery. Is your D in a program that is common to lots of schools? I was in the only state school program in my major in my state, so that kept me there until I started liking it…I knew that if I left the school, I’d have to change majors.</p>
<p>I’m feeling better about Son…got an upbeat text from him last night. I’m trying to focus on what he is doing well…for example, the kid who had to be *drug out of bed *every single morning of grades K-12 appears to be making it to a 9 am class three days a week.</p>
<p>D’s first week I had pretty regular texts, emails, phone calls, instant messages, facebook chats…I was getting pretty anxious. When I was at college, I talked to my parents maybe every 2 weeks-- for brief periods. No emails, no cell phones, I think I’m dating myself. D’s suitemates are all interested in Greek life, which is fine, but D has no interest in it whatsoever. The majority of them were out every single night until the wee hours the first week. D’s always been a conscientious student and that hasn’t changed. Happily, she has been able to connect with others of a like mind. Sometimes it just takes a bit to find those activities and people that you want to spend time with.</p>
<p>LasMa–hope your daughter finds her niche and feels better soon. That’s so hard to hear, as a parent. Missypie–glad you got an upbeat text from son!! Hopefully that’s a positive sign.</p>
<p>amtc–hope your daughter is just ‘venting’ and that once at school she’ll feel excited and confident. Sometimes it helps to get out all the fears, then the reality is not so bad…!</p>
<p>amtc, my son didn’t sleep for a few nights before going to school. Although he has a sleep disorder, this was really anxiety about the big changes coming up. He slept OK the first night at school. All seems well so far. I know that is not great comfort, but addressing the rational reasons for anxiety (all new people, harder academic work, unknown social setting, having to lots of stuff for herself that you were doing for her until now, etc.) may help. Has she heard how her friends are adjusting? Are there some success stories for her to hang her hat on?</p>
<p>LasMa–I knew within a few weeks that I was unhappy. I don’t think it occurred to me to transfer until the next year. Sadly, my mother I insisted that I return for a second year as I had $ and it was to be a transfer from a small school to a large state. I did transfer my Junior year but never really made friends or became involved. (loved grad school though). So when my daughter knew the first week of school that she was not in the right place I supported her transfer which she did mid freshman year. She had an amazing 3.5 years at the transfer school. I am still in awe of her tenacity in getting right on the transfer papers and taking buses and flights to interview and such. I only helped get the paper work send at this end.
OH! I just reread your post and see that it is homesickness that your D compalins of–that seems to me to be different than “this was a wrong choice”. So perhaps my comments do not fit your situation with you D. Homesickness usually does pass after a few weeks and hopefully it will for your D. Don’t forget that the counseling center sees loads of this and might have a special group for her.
Not knowing your D, I am not going to give advice but just wanted to share that it is possible to know that you are not in the right school and while one can “make” it work, there is also something to be said about knowing yourself and making changes. It also could be that your D will calm down some if she knows she is not “trapped” as she seems to feel right now.
Now all of that said–it was heartwrenching to hear my D’s tears on the phone those first months. Dropping S off last week at a school where he feels totally in sync has been such a different experience. My thought are with you.
TwistedxKiss–we are all waiting for your update!</p>