Parents of the HS Class of 2009 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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<p>Our D had a break through recently. Aside from my H, I know that no one with understand except other 2013 parents. D is a URM but really doesn’t identify culturally. We are part Native Hawaiian. Her college is very supportive to all the URMs and offers programs over the summer to give them an opportunity to spend a week on campus to get to explore all of the academic and social opportunities available to students. D received an invitation to the program, which was free, and promptly threw it in the trash. She was insulted and refused to consider going. The night before the deadline, the director of the program called our house to speak to D and encourage her to reconsider attending. No go. She was polite but firm. She asked him point blank if her URM status was the reason she was accepted. He actually was a bit insulted and assured her that everyone, including the athletes, were more than qualified to attend HYPSM. Her perspective was that she got in on her own and the URM status was not important. She didn’t need or want a “head start” on the majority of her class. </p>

<p>So what is the break though? I have always encouraged her to explore her background but knew I needed to tread lightly. When we dropped her off, I encouraged her to check out the Native Center along with lots of other clubs. She just brushed me off. So I was looking at her Facebook the other night and found pictures of her at a pumpkin carving party at where?!! The Native Center… with her “big sister” (a Native mentor). Could it be that she is maturing a bit and not cutting off her nose to spite her face? Oh and guess who was in one of the many photos? The director of the program. I will have to carefully ask for details when she comes home for Thanksgiving. </p>

<p>Thanks for letting me share.</p>

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<p>Well, egamac, how cool is that!! Not only fitting in and having fun at her college but doing so while learning and appreciating more about her unique heritage. Sounds like a home run to me!
PS I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. Welcome!
pps- Thanks for getting us back on track. All this squirrel talk makes me nutty!</p>

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<p>emgamac - more EDM - evidence of dawning maturity. congratulations! (and welcome!)</p>

<p>kmccrindle - more good advice. thanks! D has assured me that yes, Thursday is the newspaper publishing night, but she knew about this party in advance and she went with the blessing of her boss at the paper. and she had all her Friday homework done before the party. more EDM :)</p>

<p>so sorry to hear about all these critter misadventures. we had a bat in the house many years ago, when our family’s favorite picture book was Stellaluna - a lovely story about a baby bat who becomes separated from her mother. because the girls loved this story so, I bravely stifled my terror of bats as H captured and removed the bat. I like to think of that as one of my finer moments of mothering ;)</p>

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<p>Emgamac-- your story brought little tears of joy to my eyes. How proud of her you must be on a couple of levels. I’d be so interested to know what was it that encouraged her to go the first time and what it was that had her going back! While I am all for the melting pot, there is much to be said for holding on to all the richness of our original spice and flavor. How’s that for a analogy gone one step too far?</p>

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<p>I haven’t visited here in a little while, so it’s ironic that you’ve all been discussing critter stories. We’ve had some critters in our attic for the past few weeks and have spent big bucks for critter control to set 24 traps, block off all openings in the roof (turbine, etc), and there’s STILL something moving around up there! Each time they check, the traps are empty. They think it might be rats. :eek: The sounds are directly over our bedroom, so I’ve been sleeping in my son’s room because I can’t get sleep with critters roaming above my bed!!! We’re ready to borrow our friends’ motion-sensor night vision camera so we know what’s up there, but I’m not sure I WANT to know. It just want to make them go away.</p>

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<p>sorry–no critters in the attic but a darling new doggie from–gasp–a shelter 7hours away that my D talked me into late last night. She is a sweetie, about 2, and quite overwhelmed right now. This is D’s dog and when she moves out in a few months Millie or Nellie (not yet decided) goes with her. I am exhausted from such a long trip but she will hopefully work out.</p>

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<p>7 hour drive–What we do for our kids!</p>

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<p>Emgamac, what a lovely story. It warmed my heart. One of the features of college I wished for with my D is the opportunity to explore new things beyond their experience. I was tickled when my hard rock D mentioned that she goes with her friends to the weekly swing dance club on campus. I never saw that one coming, but you go girl. And how meaningful for your D to connect to something that’s a part of her she hadn’t tapped.</p>

<p>And my story of unintended animals is from my D’s roommate’s sister’s experience. She was bitten by a bat (just after recovering from mono, just to let her feel kicked when she was already down) her freshman year. The stories of the subsequent rabies shots were a horror and she ended up transferring the next year. Too much bad stuff for her. But the teachable moment was that apparently bats can bite while they’re in flight: they don’t need to land. And so people can be bitten without knowing (they don’t all have capes and dramatic eyebrows), as this girl was. It was a horrible story and I’m permanently spooked.</p>

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<p>Fortunately or unfortunately, my empty nest has been deemed inhabitable by the squirrels (who instead are quite territorial about the old Oak that hovers above the hot tub…a vulnerable feeling to be chattered at by a live wild thing while in a state of undress…).</p>

<p>However, about 8 years ago in a different and more pastoral home I awoke at 2 a.m. to hear a great clattering in the kitchen. I lived alone with my s. at the time, and my present day h. lived about 4 hrs. away. I crept out to the kitchen and let out a bloodcurdling scream when I came face to face with the possum who was sitting in a dirty frying pan I’d left on the stove. I scared him so much, he scurried up the curtains and then just hung there, playing dead. I called by soon-to-be-DH. To which he said: “What would you like me to do about it from here…talk him down?”
Becalmed, I did indeed attempt to talk the possum down, and eventually “swept” him into a box, took him across the road to the golf course, and set him free, muttering all the while.</p>

<p>A few weeks later I was out on my front porch during a thunder storm around 5 a.m. I saw what I believed was the neighbor’s cat crouching beneath my car, and called “Here kitty kitty” to get the fool thing over to the porch.
Imagine my surprise when I realized ‘my’ possum was bounding toward me, headed for my lap. You guessed it – another blood-curdling scream and “sudden playing of death” from my possum friend.</p>

<p>The moral of this story is never leave a dirty fry pan in the kitchen overnight and never talk to wild things unless you plan to start up a relationship : ) Hi ho. And, as you can guess, I still get teased to this day about having called my husband to save me, remotely, from the critter.</p>

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<p>It’s got to be the way women in our generation were socialized. Before H and I were married (with me in Texas and him in Pennsylvania), my cat brought a live mouse into my bedroom, then allowed the mouse to escape. Yes, I called him, hundreds of miles away and no, he did not jump on the next US Air flight to help me out.</p>

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<p>Do you ever watch Headlines on Leno? A few weeks ago he showed a poster someone made to help a lost cat be reclaimed by its owners. Of course, under the heading “Found Cat” was a close up of a sweet little possum face. The guy is probably still wondering why no one has claimed the “kitty”.</p>

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<p>Good Morning! Bad news yesterday that I am behind on my knee recovery…boo! Range of motion much better but still lots of swelling and pain with lateral movement. Guess I still have a bone contusion/bruise that is very slow to heal along with a sprained ligament. They keep asking me about a blunt force injury but I really don’t recall anything except hitting the dishwasher door many months ago after the torn meniscus. H wants to know how I could forget something that caused so much damage. Wanted to give me cortisone shot but I wanted more time so we agreed to wait three more weeks while I take some anti-inflammatory meds. I hate being injured!!! (especially during Holiday shopping season!) ;)</p>

<p>D2 coming home again this weekend as the BF is in state playoffs for football. She said she can’t come home the following weekend because of tests but will just see us at Thanksgiving. Had her end of year review with coach and her scholarship was renewed.</p>

<p>Oh, and my good news! Have a Holiday party (already) tonight. Get to see the Louvre and the Masterpiece Exhibit. Excited about dressing up and having dinner, wine and some culture! :)</p>

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<p>Hope we aren’t to blame…are you posting too much and doing PT too little?</p>

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<p>missypie – are you implying that this forum could distract us from something else more important???</p>

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<p>Ha! H thinks I could do a little more rehab! I want to wear my sparkly shoes tonight but I don’t think it’s gonna happen!</p>

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<p>Re: discouraging rats: We had intermittent wood rat incursions–until we got 2 kittens. The scent of cats in the house seems to keep rats out very effectively. Downside: kittens became cats who now occasionally go outdoors and bring us a rodent and expect praise!</p>

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<p>There’s a scene in Friends where the gang is sitting around at Central Perk and one of them looks at their watch and realizes that’s its about 11 in the morning. One of the friends says, “Maybe this is why they don’t like me at work” (or something like that.)</p>

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<p>Here in Texas we get gekkos in the house…tiny ones, large ones…Son was always the one who was willing to pick them up and take them outside. Now youngest D has reluctantly taken over the duty. I keep saying that once the kids leave, we’ll HAVE to get a cat, or else our walls will be crawling with gekkos.</p>

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<p>Hiya gang! I haven’t had a lot to say lately so haven’t been posting or:hangs head in shame: keeping up here. </p>

<p>But now I have some stuff to share.</p>

<p>DDs are happy, making friends, enjoying new experiences etc.</p>

<p>Last night they drove up to see their old soccer team in a play off game so we drove down and took them out to dinner. 2 hours of chatter later I know that:</p>

<p>Academically: Things are fairly rosey for one and that the other is likely to need to retake Calc :frowning: but really it’s ok because I think she has learned that she needs to ask for help before she is in trouble with just 4 weeks left in the semester. </p>

<p>They both agree that bio majors are dropping like flies and they are two of the few who are still hanging in. First year course work is intense and they try to weed out kids who may not really want a bio major after all. </p>

<p>Socially both are making and spending time with their own friends but they do come together frequently and bring each other into their new social circles. We gave them a car so that off campus jobs are easier to get to and that seems to be working out well in terms of fostering confidence too</p>

<p>one’s roommate is bisexual but D is fine with that and though roomie has a gf they have been respectful and she hasn’t bee sexiled or anything yet.</p>

<p>the other’s roomie is sweet but scattered. She has a boyfriend but the boy is also buds with my d so that is not an issue</p>

<p>Both girls get along well with their respective roommates and socialize with them.</p>

<p>One D has an internship at one of the largest no-kill animal shelters out there. She is currently a cat box cleaner but after 3 months will be promoted to more hands on animal work. If she continues there she will be able to work in the on-site clinic as well as in the grooming and training departments. Definitely right up her alley.</p>

<p>Missypie funny that critters that are sold as pets here are climbing the walls there. Funny about the possum/cat.</p>

<p>NorthMinn I have been keeping up with your stories of your D and is sounds like knowing she has the option to go somewhere has helped her to at least enjoy the time she has left where she is. I always think that letting a kid know they have educational options is a good thing :slight_smile: I was thinking about you yesterday and wondering if your D’s transfer schools are further from home or about the same distance from the one she attends now.</p>

<p>mmah: a friend is currently battling a rat in her garage, It’s not just icky it’s destructive and chewed through the wiring on her car. I may suggest the kitty option to her.</p>

<p>zetesis: There was a time not so long ago that my husband would have said this forum was the most important thing in my life. silly man ;)</p>

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<p>Laughed out loud. Shows a good quick wit (which I greatly enjoy and admire).</p>

<p>I love Thursdays… that’s the day that son’s student newspaper comes out. I get a little insight into campus life and it makes me feel on a weekly basis that it’s a good place for him to be on a lot of levels.</p>

<p>Got a phone call a week or so ago from some other parents who send their kid to the same school. While I am sure it will have something to do with the annual fund, one couple has organized a gathering of sorts for tonight. Of course, my only concern is what am I going to wear!</p>