<p>gator4ever, I have goose bumps reading about your journey with your son–how wonderful and best wishes to him in college!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all who have launched and I’m sorry to hear about those whose kids have some concerns. Transition can be hard but, hopefully, the next call/text/fb message will be happier.</p>
<p>We just returned from d’s successful launch across the country. Kids coming from a farther distance were invited to move in a day early which we elected to do. Flew in late Wednesday night, woke up early Thursday and made it to pick up BBB pre-order, run through Target and Staples and be at school by 1 pm when D was able to pick up her key. No lines anywhere…no helpers with the luggage and boxes but it wasn’t a problem. Got the room together–a door stop and a scissors are absolute essentials…I would have liked 2 scissors! A bag or box for recycling and another for trash are helpful as there’s so much packaging.</p>
<p>The big decision was to loft or not loft the bed and, if lofting, how high. There were about 6 other kids on the hall moving in and each was nicer than the last–a great first impression. D rejected the rug she’d just selected but, otherwise, it all went very smoothly. Oh, the tape measure was indispensible too–necessary to measure for the rug and the plastic drawers.</p>
<p>Had a really nice dinner with the 5 of us–our last (sob!) and we went back to the hotel. Woke up early again to meet the roommate before heading back to BBB and Target for returns and picking up the odds and ends D thought of since the day before. The school was decorated to welcome families and looked great. There was a great energy on campus and I was so happy to see D walk up to people and introduce herself. Met the roommate and her mom and then we all had lunch (gratis–nice touch by the school). Then all freshman had hall meetings while parents had an assembly-type meeting with a variety of speakers. One more meeting up with our D and then it was good-bye. She was upbeat and happy…parents week-end is just a month away and there’s something comforting about knowing we’ll get to see her again that soon.</p>
<p>The school did a great job with move in…personally, I’d take a do-it-yourself move-in the day before when it’s empty (worked out that way at D1’s university freshman year too) but there is something very nice about the orientation staff swarming the car, emptying it and bringing everything up to the room that’s very nice on the ‘real’ move in day too. Oh, also did the hanging clothes in the garbage bags in the suitcase and it was so easy! Also went to Barnes and Noble (U’s book store) the day before move in and it was empty–tried to stop in the next afternoon and there was a line out the door. </p>
<p>I got choked up numous times over the two days and did shed a few tears at one point…I’m so excited for my D but sad that she won’t be in my day-to-day life anymore. Really can’t believe d2 is launched…poor d3 is going to have more attention than she ever wanted…!</p>
<p>Gator4ever: Thanks for sharing your story. I have a daughter who struggles with significant behavioral and learning issues, so I can appreciate the amazing progress your son has made! I share your joy.</p>
<p>Congrats to all who have launched successfully! </p>
<p>Hugs to those whose send-off was a bit wobbly. Sometimes it just takes time for them to find their niche.</p>
<p>We’re leaving this morning for NC…we launch tomorrow! Yesterday I checked in with S2 on the status of his clothing packing. Great, Mom! was the response. I went to look at the quantity of stuff so that I could figure out how I might fit it in the car. Whoa – he had out about 7 T shirts, 5 pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, and stacks of socks and underwear. Honestly, it looked as if he was packing for a week-long vacation. I mentioned that it looked a little light to me and he insisted that I was an “overpacker” (okay, he got me there) and he just wasn’t going to need that much. I reminded him that he was staying there for the year and might want to rethink it. I went back later to check and the piles were much larger, so I’ll assume he has what he needs!</p>
<p>D moves in on Saturday- vrey close by but plan to treat it as far away- RM lives 8 hours away and I told her that I planned to call her mom and introduce myself- kept asking her to get her name from her RM-she never did- so i called- have the number here from the school- just to tell her than I am close by if her D ever needs anything etc… asked them to meet for dinner night before - D was furious with me- I really meant absolutely no harm-I posted a thread last night and got alot of replies- mostly that I need to let D be in charge etc but also from parents who live far away and said it was a nice gesture- D said I want to be like I am far away and I don’t plan to text much etc… she wants to be a grownup- she is very independent already but I was really just trying to be nice and now realize I could have done it at move in or dinner- I feel so badly now…</p>
<p>Thanks gatormom for sharing your amazing story. Our family is full of gators and half of my son’s class will be there. Wishing your family only the best.</p>
<p>hless: Your intentions were good, and I’m sure that the roommate’s family appreciated them. Why don’t you assure your daughter that you’ll follow her lead in the future?</p>
<p>Gater4ever: Thanks for sharing your story.</p>
<p>We went to a “summer send-off” for freshman from our area yesterday. It was great to see my daughter chatting away with other students. It was fun talking to the other parents. One family has done NO shopping and hadn’t even pre-ordered on BB and B. They need CC</p>
<p>@hisess - Be gentle to yourself. You can only go forward. You did have good intentions but they weren’t what your daughter wanted. Communicating offers of future help, or dinner plans through your daughter would have been better or as you said, waiting until move in. We coordinated picking up a BB&B order for our son’s RM, who is 16hrs from home while we are 90min, through the kids. Yes, I had his home phone but it’s not my relationship. In your daughter’s case she’s dealing with emotions of trying to be ‘away at school’ while still being nearby. She doesn’t want to feel like a hometown kid…townies are not always treated the same on campus. </p>
<p>Take this as a learning lesson. Tell her you’ll find more subtle ways next time, and move on. She will, even through she’s mad right now. As soon as she sees you’re not showing up uninvited and she has the same freedom as other kids she’ll breathe easier and realize being able to come home once in a while has it’s benefits.</p>
<p>Gentle hugs to you. Sometimes moms feel the worst just trying to do nice things…this is a crazy gig huh?!? :)</p>
<p>Yeah, what BI said. We are all trying to be the best we can be. We all need to be gentle with ourselves when we make a mistake. (But maybe not with the hazing upperclass band folks. They get no quarter.)</p>
<p>I love reading all the stories. D had her last get together with her h.s. friends. What was supposed to be an hour or two stretched to 6. I was happy that she was happy but it was tough because I was her excuse to leave so we only had one car. So I made conversation with parents of rising juniors who came to the party because those kids could not drive yet. What we do for our kids- yeesh.</p>
<p>One of her dearest friends is starting school on Long Island and D has planned to meet him in NYC next Monday for her last gasp with h.s. friends. He will already be at school but only has classes on Tues and Wed. A 5 day weekend for a first year? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. D believes he will flunk out by Christmas so we will see. But is was nice to see her so animated about her choice of college and extolling the program- encouraging others to transfer if their programs are not as a good a fit. Hope she continues to be as optimistic after the launch.</p>
<p>Ok- stupid question. Everybody says we need to get a doorstop, but what kind of store sells them? We could not find at Target or CVS or a craft store/home decor store (but staff was invisible so we were not able to ask). Are we talking a hard rubber or wood triangle or some decorative heavy thing? I have no clue nor does D.</p>
<p>Door stops: Walmart carries them but was sold out. But I found several different varieties in stock at our local Home Depot. I would guess that Target does have them too, but where they will be can be kind of a mystery. At the Walmart, they were supposed to be in a hardware aisle along with the felt feet you put on the bottoms of furniture, command hooks, etc.</p>
<p>I have a vague memory of using a door stop for D1’s move in, but I have no idea where it is. No younger sib, so we may have to use a box.</p>
<p>At the reception we attended yesterday, parents of older students spoke. Both Dads said that their daughters considered transferring at the beginning of college, but loved school by Thanksgiving. They told us to give our kids time to adjust, and not get too concerned about the early unhappy phone calls.</p>
<p>**The next new student move-in is Wellesley College move-in on August 22nd - today!
Move-in day is TODAY! Where did the summer go? :eek:
[ul][<em>]Pitt, Midwestern State, Duke and RPI move-ins on August 23rd are just 1 day to go.
[</em>]Marquette University, Bryn Mawr, and Reed College move-ins on August 24th are just 2 days to go.
[<em>]Willamette move-ins on August 25th are just 3 days to go.
[</em>]Georgetown University, Champlain College, Elon University, and SUNY Potsdam move-ins on August 26th are just 4 days to go.
[<em>]Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, California Lutheran University, Sarah Lawrence College, Tulane University, Lebanon Valley College, and Loyola University of Maryland move-ins on August 27th are just 5 days to go.
[</em>]University of Pennsylvania (Wharton - Penn Quest program), MYU (Stern- BPE), Adelphi University, RIT Honors, and Northeastern University move-ins on August 28th are just 6 days to go.
[li]Trinity College, Boston University (FYSOP), and Columbia University move-ins on August 29th are just 1 week to go.[/ul][/li]The last new student move-ins are the University of Oregon and the University of Southern Oregon on September 22nd<br>
Move-in day in 31 days. Just over a month to go for the final move-in.</p>
<p>While cruising through Office Max the other day we saw a funky, colorful doorstop called the “Stoppy”–lightweight, shaped like a comma (or maybe an apostrophe–which side is up?) and can be hung on the doorknob when not in use. Amazon has them for $7.99 although I seem to remember it was less than that at OM.</p>
<p>hisess, I think your daughter is probably over-reacting, though I would likely have mentioned that I was going to do it. There are lots of tensions afoot. I tried to get ShawD to email or contact her roommate via FB (they friended immediately). She was reticent ("What am I going to say to her? I guess we’re going to be rommates?). Roomie contacted her and now they are talking. ShawD was going to bring a router and printer. Roomie has a printer she plans to bring, but ShawD will bring a router. I asked her about bringing an electric kettle (which ShawSon has enjoyed having). She said she was going to ask. But, prior to the initiation of emailing, ShawD was very sensitive to suggestions that she email Roomie.</p>
<p>I’m giving a speech one month after move-in date in the city in which Roomie’s parents live. I’ll be pretty busy – I’m making dinner plans for both nights, but I could conceivably get together for coffee with them, but I will check with ShawD before I suggest it (especially after hearing your experience).</p>
<p>BBB has door stops in black, red and blue. Of course my wife bought the blue to go with Orange as in Gator Orange and Blue.</p>
<p>We only returned a lamp and a desk organizer that didnt fit.</p>
<p>After loading my SUV I thought to myself there is no way this is going to fit in the dorm. I lived in the same dorm 35 years ago. Well it fit and very easy.</p>
<p>Good Luck to everyone moving in this week and thanks for the all the kind words regarding my son. He started class today taking Calculus and Chemistry major is Engineering.</p>
<p>Doorstop-I think H found one at Home Depot. We came to find out it was helpful but really not a “must have” during our move in. A female student a few rooms down the hall used her sneaker to keep the door open.</p>
<p>^ It’s useful far beyond move in as keeping your door open invites others in to socialize when you are just hanging out. You meet more people and it’s a better first-year experience. Hands down the advise most often given by upperclassman to incoming students is to keep your door open when you are in your room and not studying.</p>
<p>The Eagle has left the nest. After some last minute spacebagging we still thought the Marquette garden gnome would have to miss this trip, but husband came through and fit him in his carry on. S had to wear his construction boots with shorts because they took up too much space in his luggage, but he didn’t want to leave them behind. sigh… no tears but I’m sure it will hit me soon.</p>
<p>Just placed an Amazon Prime order for pepper spray and a little alarm for D to put on her keychain. Now that I’ve ordered them, I feel better cause I am sure she will never need them.</p>