<p>PRJ, you’re all better now, I hope?</p>
<p>I suppose an emergency appendectomy is a good reason not to be posting on CC; that’s about what it takes to keep some of us away, anyway!</p>
<p>No talking with my kid tonight, and when he’s home on break in a few weeks, we are going to have a Come to Jesus conversation, because I’m not appreciating at all the tone and language of some of his emails. Not at all. </p>
<p>My email to him this evening, that, because he hasn’t contacted me as I requested (about the NMSF stuff), I’d be calling his academic advisor tomorrow surely did get his attention! I’ve gotten four emails from him tonight.</p>
<p>Yes, a Come to Jesus talk is definitely needed!</p>
<p>missypie, I’m getting there. thanks for asking :)<br>
I’ve never had any kind of surgery so I just figured I’d be back to normal in a few days, but I’m still pretty stiff and sore. i’ve got an out-of-town meeting later this week and it is slowly dawning on me that I might not make it. </p>
<p>yes, owlice, sounds like Come to Jesus time to me!</p>
<p>OUCH PRJ
Glad you are back and well enough to even consider an out of town meeting.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome back</p>
<p>my D2 had an emerency appendectomy while we were out of town Felt off in the beginning then suddenly was fine 4 days or so. of course she was 15, take care of yourself .</p>
<p>PRJ, there are plenty of suggestions on the “Empty Nest” thread for what to do with your spare time that do not include emergency surgery! Since it’s a done deal I wish you a speedy recovery.</p>
<p>I have made a significant discovery–the “Freshman 15” is actually caused by care packages from home. H asked D if she wanted us to send her cookies or anything and she said baked goods and home made treats are everywhere on her hall. Instead she asked for “the good apples” from the local orchard.</p>
<p>PRJ–hope you are feeling better soon! welcome back theorymom–we all would love to hear details of the cabin you built (envy here).</p>
<p>OH Owlice–S came home this weekend and the tone was fine at first. Then “it” started again…have no idea why. Not so sad when he left to return by bus. (funny! here–as he had not sounded so nice last week when we discussed his desire to visit (GF NOT PARENTS) I did not help him with travel plans. He ended up on a bus vs train and it got stuck in traffic …and while it impacted my plans it still made me laugh…if he had just been a little bit nicer he would have been on the train and not the bus…). So long story short–D says I cannot simply stop initiating talk with him so I have offered her $1 an email or text and she is on it for me…AND she sounds so much nicer that I have ever been…we shall see how he responds. While he was pleasant he sounded happy and content with school and such so for that I am thankful.</p>
<p>Ow, PRJ! Wishing you a speedy recovery.</p>
<p>This weekend D1 sent D2 a couple of photos of her dorm room. Her side of the room: clean, organized, bed made, pretty much as it was when I left her except for a couple of new posters. Roommate’s side: a crazy explosion of clothes and belongings strewn EVERYWHERE. Whoa. I knew she’d mentioned the roomie being messy, but this is really out of control.</p>
<p>“I think she lied on the roommate questionnaire about being neat,” says D1. Gee, you think?? But they are getting along fine otherwise so she’s not inclined to make waves, especially as it’s not a dealbreaker like bringing home strange guys for the night. She just shoves the stuff back across the midpoint of the room.</p>
<p>PRJ - Hope you have a speedy recovery.</p>
<p>Spoke with both S and D last night. S will be home again this weekend to take the LSATs and he’s starting his grad school applications. The good thing is that I don’t have really anything to do with it. He’s taking care of it himself.</p>
<p>D seems to like college. She says that there is a fair amount of drinking on the weekends and since she doesn’t drink ( I wouldn’t care if she did as long as she doesn’t go off the deep end ) she says she finds it humorous to see most of her friends drunk. I’m sure eventually she’ll start as well. She’ liking the food, has found some friends and seems to be on top of the homework. Not sure how her tests are going but she sounds okay.</p>
<p>Chintzy - that is such a great idea!!! D has been known to sneak out extra fruit from the dining hall, so I’ll have a bag of local apples waiting for her when she comes home in a couple of weeks. With all the rain we had this year, it will be a bumper crop locally!</p>
<p>We didn’t get a Sunday phone call but got something perhaps better. Yesterday, the mother of ShawbridgeSon’s close HS friend was driving with her son to spend the day with a relative who lives in the town where ShawbridgeSon is going to college. She called and asked us if we wanted her to drop anything off. ShawbridgeWife was making apple crisps and drove one over the their house. Anyway, she took ShawbridgeSon out to dinner with her two sons and a cousin’s daughter who is at Mount Holyoke and her friend or roommate. So, we got a much fuller report than we would have gotten from any phone call (“How are things going?” “OK” “How are you sleeping?” “Not great but not terrible.” …). Instead, she said he looked great, seemed very happy, was excited about the debate tournament he’d just been in and in particular enthused about the one in which he had to respond extemporaneously to the topic raised by the other team. He had a debate-like conversation about criminal law with the roommate of the girl from MH and our friend was impressed at how articulate he was and how he was able to marshal lots of data seamlessly to form an argument – and how he kept cool and reasoned even while she was getting heated. [Great that he is so superb with constructing arguments, I thought, but probably not a great way to make friends and influence girls] He became tired at 9:45 and wanted to get driven home [a little worrisome, but he had been debating and had to do all of the weekend’s homework on Sunday but it also meant he skipped the clearly alcoholic parties to which he’d been invited].</p>
<p>thanks for the well wishes, everyone.</p>
<p>dte - your D’s quick recovery is encouraging - oh, to be 15 again. well, not really, but it would be nice to have that physical resilience.</p>
<p>LOL chintzy. and my nest isn’t completely empty yet anyway. love the apples idea - any clever ideas about how to pack and ship them?</p>
<p>lunitari - I worry that D’s roommate is sending pictures like that home. their housing questionnaire didn’t ask the neat vs. messy question, so her roomie may have been blown away by D’s capacity for messiness. I hope not.</p>
<p>PRJ glad you are feeling better!</p>
<p>re: local apples. H and I went 'round and 'round on this last night and finally opted to pay up and use the gift shipping option at one of the larger local orchards. Harry and David we are not.</p>
<p>PRJ - so sorry to hear about your surgery. Ouch! Hopefully someone is getting you tea and painkillers. :-)</p>
<h1>TM- long time no type. You obviously had an ambitious summer for yourself, but if anything will take your mind off of how the kiddies are doing it’s building your own house. I cannot even imagine.</h1>
<p>Last night I heard this weird sound in the kitchen and then the next thing I knew the ceiling was pouring out water. THe toilet in our master bedroom was overflowing because apparently the little bar that extends inside the tank from the handle got stuck somehow. What a mess. We know will have to have our ceiling repaired. Smooth ceilings that have no clear breaking point so will probably have to paint the majority of the ceilings on the first floor. So much for ever saving any money around here.</p>
<p>S texted me via facebook last night that he had just completed a paper that was due next monday. While I am sure it is more rough draft than finished product, I am glad to see he is still working as diligently as he did when he was here. Unlike me and his sisters, if he has the time to get ahead he does. Not one to procrastinate on most things which is a trait that will serve him well in college. UNlike Rochester Mom, I know my son is enjoying the parties. Apparently he hasn’t had any tests or quizzes or anything like that and won’t even get feedback on what’s he’s written for his “English” class until after midterms. We might be finding a rude awakening but at this point I would say that in almost all ways (that I have an inkling about) he is a pig in proverbial doo-doo. :-)</p>
<p>However, we still haven’t spoken to him much and when he does call it is usually while he is walking from point A to point B and he is distracted by “hello” and “heys” throughout. Then as soon as he enters his suite, he’s “gotta go.” So… I feel like I don’t get much of an opportunity to just get him talking like you would if he were sitting at the counter with me shoveling food at him to keep him there. :)</p>
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<p>As parents, we all wonder when our kids are old enough to be left alone. Years ago, H and I decided our kids were old enough to be left alone for an hour or so - we were about 6 blocks from the house. Imagine our surprise when D came sprinting up…the same thing happened - the bar was up on an upstairs toilet and water was pouring out of the bathroom and down the hall. Of course, it didn’t help when I was downstairs and said, “I hope the ceiling doesn’t come down.” The kids envisioned the ENTIRE ceiling crashing down (instead of the little hole that developed.) Yes, so that was our “reward” for leaving the kids alone.</p>
<p>The kids bathroom had a slow leak and ruined the neighboring bedroom carpet and stained (came close) to ruining the dining room ceiling. We ended up being able to paint it after drying everthing out. what a mess! so sorry !
PRJ if it helps D1 did feel icky at first even necesitating a return to ER for vomiting. we flew home and something about being home was like a light bulb going off and she was fine. I was worse for the wear having taken care of her the entire time 24/7. That was our “cheap” get away to visit family to take a reprieve from the the college thing this year. HA. I do hope you feel better soon!
fruit idea excellent idea!!!</p>
<p>PRJ…Oh no! Hope you are on the mend! SO sorry to hear!</p>
<p>Contact with D2 has been short and and cryptic but I’m hoping that is a good thing! Did hear from her last night when she texted from bus (10 hour trip) and was having trouble doing some graph on Excel for school work. She is very grateful to be able to have internet access on the bus as she travels. Will see her on Tuesday for game but we didn’t go to games this weekend as they were too far away. She has also been asking for apples. Will bring Honeycrisp, her favorite, and some of the new SweeTango ones. Haven’t tried them yet but hearing great things even if they are expensive!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the water damage Modadunn! Ish!</p>
<p>It’s always something, isn’t it! Friday D called- was feeling under the weather. What to buy- Dayquil or Mucinex. Made it through Friday and Saturday - anxious mom here debating whether to drive over and see if it was “just a cold” or H1N1. D went to bed at 7:30 pm Saturday night- slept 14 hours- feeling much better. I think it was her first experience with hell week- test in every class it seemed and then social events for an organization she’s pledging Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Bound to catch up with even the healthiest of people.</p>
<p>Our daughter is also missing fresh fruit. She says the dining hall has apples and bananas, but the oranges are not good and she is not a fan of bananas. I did do the Harry and David thing - sending her pears - to arrive the beginning of October. Free shipping. Will check into our local orchards for their shipping information, perhaps.
We were just with her for Parent’s Weekend. It was wonderful to spend time with her and take her to dinner and the grocery store, etc. Bought her a fridge for her room. Again - mostly for fruit. Can now have grapes and strawberries, etc. Although some ice cream products were purchased, also! She is happy. Has so much homework, and her tummy hasn’t been “right” since she started college. Nerves, I suppose. I am afraid she is losing weight, which she can’t afford to do.</p>