<p>Historymom, feel better and have a wonderful time this weekend!</p>
<p>Another soph. PSAT mom here–S3 said it was “boring and easy” which probably means his score will reflect the effort and I don’t actually care. It’s so nice to know on #3 that it isn’t the be all and end all of the universe right now… I like that he’ll get the answer booklet and will be able to see areas to work on. I actually like how blase he is about it, which is probably a mistake, but is so refreshing, because S1 and S2 kind of freaked out about tests…</p>
<p>Missypie, S1 is spending spring semester in Barcelona, and we’ll visit during spring break. Have you been there and have any places you’d recommend to stay?</p>
<p>As to the drinking, this has been a big issue here. S1 goes to a partay school and has definitely been active in the work hard/play hard culture. We talk a LOT about underage drinking, and he tells us pretty openly what he’s doing, often much more than I want to know. I know in my mind it’s much worse than it actually is. He turns 21 in 9 days. Our kids did NOT party in HS, but have this idea its ok in college. It’s a fine line getting them to talk to you about it being illegal and scary (to us) but also keeping the lines of communication open, so we can keep telling them how we feel. I don’t know what the level of S2 partying is, but suspect is minimal. I do know that both kids draw a line at drinking and driving, and/or getting in a car with someone who has been drinking. It is scary, and I hate this particular aspect of their lives more than I can express.</p>
<p>Oh, but S2 comes home for a whole week fall break Saturday! Wahoo! Can’t wait!!! And he has a gig while he’s home, so we get to hear him play too.</p>
<p>Happy Anniversary to the Shawbridges and get well soon to Historymom and assorted S’s and D’s dodging H1N1.</p>
<p>D is coming home tonight for Fall break (a glorified 3 day weekend). USAir is doing their best to keep her from getting here, but I hope to pick her up at 11:00 tonight. Only 3 hours behind schedule. H called me from work this morning and said “It feels like Christmas!”</p>
<p>A friend of mine is trying to get to NYU and is delayed (or was). Hope it doesn’t turn into a relay where several flights/airlines start running behind. Its like a bad traffic jam in the sky.</p>
<p>Son called… he said he has worn his retainer on occasion. And then said he was off to a meeting with peer writing tutors to go over his papers (plural) all due tomorrow for one class. They have to submit a portfolio of work they’ve been working on. I seriously pity the kid who doesn’t work very well with self-imposed deadlines on multiple projects. I would have been terrible at that and would have procrastinated until the week or so before it was due. I love that my son is so not like me. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the feel better wishes all. I am not going to work tomorrow either.</p>
<p>Had the first teary conversation with D. She had an interview for an internship, was on her way home (she wasn’t driving BTW) just had a bit of a breakdown about Chem and Calc and stress. She’s OK I actually think a part of it (a large part) is that she was going to have to miss The Office tonight.</p>
<p>Modadunn, I’m coming to your place for Thanksgiving! I haven’t seen a new episode of The Office yet this season!</p>
<p>(And that’s because I still haven’t hooked up the converter box to the television. Yes, I have an analog TV, no cable, no satellite, just plain ol’ broadcast. Or did have broadcast, but without the converter box, I gots nuttin’, nuttin’, I tells ya! Oh… this just clicked… My electric bill – on the payment plan, so every month save one, the payment is the same – has just dropped again. Went down by about a third soon after very-soon-to-be-ex-H found his basement apartment, and today’s notice nearly halves what I’ve been paying recently. Huh. May be still another while before that converter box gets hooked up; this is more money with which to pay college bills!)</p>
<p>get well Hmom
Enjoy your kiddo SJTH
CLink to lower electric bills, owlice
and well cared for retainers…
Kid comes home tomorrow, wants to go out to dinner with my GF and I to hear his Dad play at a gig (never has cared to do this before <:-O)</p>
<p>DH has really been missing S and all of their shared activities (scouts, tournaments, practices, hiking, camping), but S just reached out in a very touching way.</p>
<p>He invited DH to a blues guitar show at a local club for H’s birthday! Bought tickets and arranged to be in town that weekend. Both are blues fans, but this is the first time for S to take the lead in a grown-up activity like this. I think they are both really excited.</p>
<p>(Now, I will say that neither one thought to invite me to come along, but I’m ok with them having father-son time.)</p>
<p>Ha! We have Project Runway, Gossip Girl and Survivor on Tivo here! Both girls do watch their shows on the computer when they can. Heading out for the weekend in a little bit. Have winter coats and vests ready to take. Said she is freezing with all the snow and rain.</p>
<p>So, S is finished with his first term – results to be seen. But, it’s great to have him (and all his laundry) at home for his 10 day break. Have no idea if we’ll see him before dinner time – he’s severely sleep deprived.</p>
<p>D is also home for the long weekend Fall Break, (a la chintzy) but she skipped her 1 class yesterday and flew home Wednesday evening – so before the snow started. (So chintzy – was your “Christmas” comment because your D is home, or because it was snowing, or both???)</p>
<h1>TM – I know what you mean about checking to see if S has read his email. I sent our S an email w/ details about picking him up at school yesterday, a reminder about a couple of things he needed to bring home, etc. Then I sent him a text telling him to read his email!!!</h1>
<p>Here’s what I’ve figured out in my attempts to communicate with Son:</p>
<p>text: always responds, most of the time immediately</p>
<p>message on Facebook: usually responds, but not always promptly</p>
<p>email: black hole; almost never responds</p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago, we were encouraging our 13 year old to email her teacher about something. It shocked me when she said she has never sent an email - thousands of texts per month, but never an email. Isn’t that wild? Here those of us who remember snail mail still think email is cutting edge, and it’s old technology to the middle school crowd!</p>
<p>Called D later and she was feeling better. She was bemoaning the fact that we don’t have APChem at our HS. Said the kids who had taken it are sailing through her chem class and everyone else is struggling. Also said the professor is great and she insists on making the students see her in office hours plus there are nightly study sessions led by upperdivision Chem majors which she is attending so she is doing all the right things but is still not performing up to her standards so she’s bummed.</p>
<p>I am still home feeling better but not well.</p>
<h1>TM so very sweet that your S wants to hang with the “oldsters” ;)</h1>
<p>I also have to remind my other D to check her email…pretty sure it’s something she does weekly, not daily. :mad:</p>
<p>Their school is on a 4-1-4 plan so they are in midterms this week and signing up for their Jan term class next. </p>
<p>Missypie: Have found the same communication continueum as you. One D will answer emails though since she actually checks her email it makes it easier for her to respond</p>
<p>Similar TIVO stash here: Project Runway, House and Glee and ditto on the communication continuum. Now I just have to remember to keep my phone with me and turned on so I don’t miss her texts!</p>
<p>eggmom, that sounds like a significant milestone to me. not something that would happen here yet. congrats to you and H (and sympathy to you for not being invited along but I get why you are okay with that.</p>
<p>just heard Maurice Sendak on NPR reading Where the Wild Things Are. I teared up - I knew every word and I so loved the years of reading aloud. Sigh.</p>
and I don’t actually care. It’s so nice to know on #3 that it isn’t the be all and end all of the universe right now… I like that he’ll get the answer booklet and will be able to see areas to work on. I actually like how blase he is about it, which is probably a mistake, but is so refreshing, because S1 and S2 kind of freaked out about tests…</p>
She’s OK I actually think a part of it (a large part) is that she was going to have to miss The Office tonight.</p>
Both girls do watch their shows on the computer when they can. Heading out for the weekend in a little bit. Have winter coats and vests ready to take. Said she is freezing with all the snow and rain.</p>