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<p>thanks, Modadunn. you just started my grocery list for me! D’s new college BF is arriving with a buddy tonight - they’re staying with us for a few days while on a 2-week road trip. Having just the girls, I have no idea what to feed these guys or how much they eat - I just know it’s a lot!</p>
<p>PRJ, glad I’m not alone in having a daughter with way too much. I think I’m looking at oh, about 15 loads of laundry. And then all the dry cleaning. I think she just went out and bought new things instead of having things cleaned. Since she’ll be in temporary housing for the next month I’ll be juggling things until I can unload them at her new abode. </p>
<p>And Moda, completely understand about paying a premium. Completely. I like to cook but I don’t like to clean up. If I have someone to help with the clean up, that’s a different story. But most in my household are only interested in the eating part!</p>
<p>Another grateful parent echoing the praise for (affordable) prepared foods.</p>
<p>Congrats to CBB’s D and Analyst’s S on graduation. This thread moves so quickly I might have missed others.</p>
<p>PRJ- I like to make a simple bean salad and a cold pasta salad to have around in the summer when everyone’s around.</p>
<p>On a more sober note, there are some very disturbing stories here. With all of the progress made by women, the violence is still a factor. I remember a beautiful girl in HS whose boyfriend used to slap her around, she married him and all these 35+ years later they are still married. So sad.</p>
<p>Sorry guys - didn’t meant to bring the thread down but I think some conversation about date violence is in order over the summer.
Missypie - keep us posted on the college decision. Good luck!
Well, S just finished getting his laundry loads packed away and now D is coming home tomorrow with 3 times the amount of his stuff!
Hey modadunn - I bet you just love the feeding and care of ModaS!! have fun!</p>
<p>I was just talking to #TS and he was telling me that a freshman from his floor is now in jail (for 10 years). Apparently he and 2 other students broke in to a woman’s appartment in town and attempted to kidnap her as well as burglarize the place. These things make me realize worrying about an fail here and there is really a very small thing to worry about. I am not these students’ parent. For that I am very thankful.</p>
<p>At son’s school there were two male students who handcuffed and terrorized a young woman in her dorm room–then claimed it was consensual. I believe they are still awaiting resolution of these charges. </p>
<p>woody, no need to apologize. These are important issues that I think we sometimes gloss over because they are uncomfortable to deal with. I’d rather be uncomfortable than dealing with some of the very sad results of student violence.</p>
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<p>When I posted on the “how did freshman year go” thread that at least Son is not dead or in prison, it was with full knowledge that there are worse things than the academic disaster that was freshman year.</p>
<p>You mother’s are awesome. My DS arrived home and he knows that he needs to do his own laundry. DD arrives home in a couple of weeks and she also knows where the laundry room is. I leave this to them. I’m just a terrible mother. Figure they have been doing it for months – they can continue :)</p>
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<p>I did it for ME. I wanted to make sure the laundry was done as soon as humanly possible. The dorm room was so dusty and filthy…I didn’t want stuff that had been in that room to be in my house unwashed for very long…I could perceive a distinct smell…I don’t know whether it was in my head or not, but I had to get everything washed ASAP.</p>
<h1>TM – is that the incident that happened in the fall? S told us about it right after it happened. I thought that one only involved one WPI freshman, though, so if the incident your S told you about is another one, that’s even more disturbing.</h1>
<p>S did his own laundry
Not without my badgering however
Most of his dirty laundry he left at school YUCK. I convinced him at least to pack all the dirty stuff in a separate box. He did not do laundry before he left school obviously and since he had to fly and only has one duffel and his back pack, he had to leave everything like bedding, towels, and some clothes. yuck yuck yuck.
There are some things about teen girls that I would trade for teen boys. At least they seem to be concerned about things like cleanliness. The thing is, once he meets a girl this all might change but it is a catch 22, he won’t meet a girl this way. And thus no need to worry about wedding plans. So much to be thankful for</p>
<p>CBB - I can’t imagine there was more than one incident like that. But S says there were 3students involved. All young men. (He knew the one from his floor - says the kid got into some bad *** and disappeared - then he heard about the arrest)</p>
<p>These stories about boys abusing girls is just so tragic, particularly when history shows that the behavior is rarely a one time thing. I’d bet most of the moms of these boys are totally shocked. </p>
<p>Good news from my S - second semester grades are 3.8, which brought up his overall freshman gpa to 3.1, better than HS, and he says that will continue next year! Whoohoo!! He got a care package from the mystery GF yesterday with baked goodies and a drawing which he immediately put up. 
We asked what he’s given her…exactly nada. That will be changing, as I explained about the GIVE and take required in any relationship, not just romantic ones. How did he get this far and not know that?</p>
<p>He brought home all his clothes (an expanded, very full carry on), and threw ALL of them in the washer…at once. I went to do him a favor and put them in the dryer, and it was seriously 3 loads (jeans were still folded since there was no room for them to actually get cleaned). BOYS!</p>
<p>^ cpeltz- awesome grades! Glad to hear it.</p>
<p>Rochestermom- D did her own laundry, too. After having to travel from the 10th floor to the basement laundry room in the dorm, she appreciates our laundry room at home.</p>
<p>S’s “stuff” is either in the living room that we don’t use except in the winter really or in his room. Most is stored away quite well - under tables etc. He was in an apartment so has cooking supplies etc. He did most of his laundry before leaving school He just had a towel - slept his last night in his sleeping bag so that everything was washed – more washers than at home so he can get things done quicker. </p>
<p>Not sure what D will do since she isn’t coming home with her “stuff”. We will move her stuff in once H brings it home and then when D gets home the following week she will need to find places in her room for her stuff. </p>
<p>I really was impressed with all of you that were doing your kids laundry. I wasn’t being sarcastic. I just can’t image taking that on right now. Just getting them home and preparing meals for more than just the 2 of us is too much for me. Hats off to you guys. Much more organized than I am. :)</p>
<p>On the good news front D says a number of friends from college are going to venture up here for a visit. </p>
<p>On the bad news front the utility gave us 10 days notice that they’re converting to a completely different way of billing for summer power usage that gives us 500KWH at our current rate, and everything else at some much higher – STILL TO BE DETERMINED – rate. And because our bill cycles on the 20th, the new rate plan has already started even though it isn’t technically due to start until June 1st, and they’ll just back load the rates when they figure them out. Isn’t that nice? I’ve got a call into the PUC which apparently approved this nonsense. I understand that it costs more for them to generate electricity during the summer, but I think that we deserve to know about the plan well before they implement it and that they should be able to tell us how much those incremental KWH are going to cost before I buy them. Grump.</p>
<h1>theory, this is the first DS has heard of it. If it’s not in pixels, he doesn’t notice it.</h1>
<p>S (prompted) did his laundry. Even folded it!</p>
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Mine didn’t know anything about the incident(s) either. But then again, he’s generally pretty clueless about things happening around him.</p>
<p>Our D has been home for a week and it has been a return to our life when she was in HS, but only for this week. She had agreed to support her old dance teachers by performing in their ballet recitals (shows the parents of the younger students what can be accomplished), so this week has been consumed by rehearsals and performances with dinner not happening until 8:30. I had enjoyed dinners at 6:30-7 during the school year and will be glad to return to that tomorrow. However, from prior posts I guess I should be happy that she and her older brother took responsibility for their own laundry in HS, so no horror stories in college.</p>