<p>A big shock to all of us is that I did not cry when we left DS yesterday. I think the distraction named Irene shifted my focus away from him to more urgent matters. We are staying in Boston at least one day longer than planned. Hopefully we can start our journey south tomorrow.</p>
<p>I got to meet three CC moms which was a super highlight of our visit. One I “met” almost two years ago! The move-in was easy with upperclassmen with hand trucks bringing stuff to the room. The three boxes we shipped were already there. DS’s stuff easily fit into drawers and closet. Orientation will keep him very busy til Wednesday when classes begin. Oh how I wish I was in his shoes.</p>
<p>Glad to hear most of the move-ins went smoothly and Irene has not caused much trouble yet. Stay safe and dry.</p>
<p>DS launched/moved in dorm (Hill) and is now on his own at Penn. We are still in Philly, hoping to sight see but may just try to head out early (if we can get a flight out that is). DS will be off hiking until Thursday and doubt we’ll get to see him again as activities will keep him busy.</p>
<p>Not as sad as I thought but I’m sure it will hit me when we get home and he’s not there.</p>
<p>With Irene moving everything around, kind of missed the college move in craziness. Seems good and bad. And with DS doing a pre-orientation program and roommate not, won’t get to meet him at all. </p>
<p>Did notice the rental fridge/microwave was already there (yeah!). </p>
<p>Just heard from DS. Sounds happy and tired.</p>
<p>Just when you think earthquakes and hurricanes will forever make this move-in memorable…the fire alarm in our hotel just went off. Fortunately the rain and wind have subsided. Things come in threes, so we should be ok…pleez.</p>
<p>Flmathmom – how did you manage to meet the CC moms? By prior arrangement? I was thinking when I was moving in D, there might very well be CC parents there but we didn’t “recognize” each other. When I do move in with S, I will print up a t-shirt that has Move In Dates Class of 2018 and the College Confidential logo. So we can all recognize each other. What do you think?</p>
<p>Well, I just wish Irene would get out of here, the winds keep coming eventhough radar looks like we are in the clear. We lost power for about 16 hrs and that means only one thing…ICE CREAM FOR ALL! We had it all morning. Finally got power back around 4:30 so we won’t have to deal with the dark. Only a little water damage here but trees were downed around town and we are up high enough that neighborhood doesn’t flood but the next town over is a lake right now. Glad for all the good launch stories! Emmybet - thinking of you in your bunker and I hope everything is fine!! Band camp starts tommorow at 7 am so I will be down to 1 child for a few days, thinking that will feel really good!!</p>
11yoD wishes she lived with you.
Electricity went off for a few seconds 2-3 times today but no outages. A lot of tree branches, leaves and debris but nothing big in yard. My Father who lives on the shore did not even get a drop of water in his cellar. I think we were lucky, some neighborhoods in and around Boston had it much worse. </p>
<p>Spent a good part of today cleaning S’s room. His drawers and closet are packed with clothes. I know he took two huge overweight duffles to school, so what is all this stuff left in his drawers???</p>
<p>classof2105 - I think the tee shirt is a great idea!</p>
<p>Congratulations on all the Hurricane Launches! Quite the story to tell!</p>
<p>We survived well here. Mostly rain and some wind. A few trees down in the neighborhood, and lost power for 3.5 hours only. Today was rainy in the am, then turned into a beautiful day. Entire family went scuba diving at the local quarry for the annual Treasure Dive for charity. Fun was had by all, and we came home with some fun “treasure” (scuba gear items). Nice last weekend with DS.</p>
<p>DS stated that his room will look like the hurricane went through it after he leaves. I told him I’d go in there and clean, so he better beware!!! It will be cleaned either by him or me–we are down to the standoff time!!!</p>
<p>Snoozn–William & Mary has cancelled classes for Mon/Tue and no one can return until Tuesday at earliest (they sent everyone away last Friday), so Williamsburg isn’t looking good right now. Hope your family gets power soon!</p>
<p>5 more days until we launch DS. Do you think he will get packed in time? We’ll see–I’m betting on Thursday night/Friday morning (we leave Friday late morning). Arghhhh!!!</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that Irene didn’t ruin the weekend move-ins.</p>
<p>We are still driving D to Boston tomorrow. We switched our route to avoid the I-95 corridor. We don’t have power, so we packed up the van this afternoon. Our stress level is very high between illness, earthquakes and hurricanes. My D is much calmer than H and I are.</p>
<p>Still no power here and we have lost everything in fridge/freezer and my hubby vows to buy a genetator :). </p>
<p>Good news! Have gotten 2 seperate texts from ds. One in response to me telling him we were home-- his reply was good,having good time,love you.</p>
<p>Thr second was thus afternoon saying things were good and he set up his advising appt. for tomorrow.</p>
<p>Second made me smile because he initiated it.</p>
<p>Good thing about no power is I had lots of time to get cards ready for all the kids we know moving into college and his buddy in basic training. I also had time to write him a letter saying all the things I wanted to say but couldn’t when I dropped him off.</p>
<p>Be safe all you who are moving in and travelling.</p>
<p>momofzach - yikes about power loss. storm was a dud where I live, but I know we were very lucky. hope it comes back on soon and you can save what is in freezer. S’s school asked us in June to write letters to our kids to be handed out during orientation. I haven’t heard anything from S about the letters (from myself, D and H) yet. </p>
<p>momjr - I think it will all be good by the time you arrive in Boston. Just south of boston there was nothing. I know some areas in town had downed poles and trees but for the most part, the storm was not as bad as thought. Hope your drive is smooth.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to have been awol for so long but I’ve been running at hyper-speed for the last few weeks. DD, DH and I made the long trek to Texas two weeks ago and got her moved in on the 15th. We stuck around until the 16th, doing a little shopping and spending a little time more time with her. She is settling in and DH and I are settling into our “new normal”. </p>
<p>DD and I have talked or texted most days, usually briefly and mostly about little things, but we Skyped last night and oh my, it was good to see her face. I knew I would miss her but it’s been tough… I can’t let myself focus on her absence so I am keeping myself busy. As soon as she is truly settled, I think I will be better.</p>
<p>Congrats to all of you who have successfully launched your Ds and Ss! I hope that they all transition smoothly and jump with both feet into their new worlds. I’ll be around CC a little more now and hope to hear lots of positive reports!</p>
<p>Another successful launch from our house! AND, I didn’t really cry. Son’s smile was so big and he was so ready to go that I couldn’t feel anything but happy for him. </p>
<p>The move in went pretty smoothly. The room is large and very nice, right across from the bathroom and son’s roommates seem like nice guys. I like how the college is making a big effort to get the freshman acclimated to the campus, their new city and each other over the weekend. </p>
<p>My husband and I went off to Montreal after the drop off and goodbye and we had a wonderful weekend. We were upgraded to the “Presidential Suite” which was a first for us. It was a huge suite with a large living room and full kitchen. More like a time share then a hotel. Montreal was quite fun with everyone speaking French and us often confused. The weather was perfect too from Friday to this morning.</p>
<p>That certainly was not true here at home. After driving 10 hours we arrived home to a sort of flooded basement. There was little standing water but all of our area carpets were soaked right though. ugh. Our older son stayed home and had moved everything of value to higher ground but he when he went to bed everything was dry. When he awoke, the power was out and everything was soaked. We’ve tried to suck up as much as possible with a wet-dry vac and they took out two big carpets but there’s one that is really wet. I’m going to try to find a Rug Doctor tomorrow. off to bed now. I’m very happy to be on the other side of the launching!</p>
<p>Congratulations on all the successful launches and making it through Irene…sorry kathiep and anyone else dealing with the aftermath.</p>
<p>momjr, best of luck with the drive to Boston and the launch. I’m sorry you and anyone else moving in tomorrow may be combatting the rain and wind of Irene. Just think about how wonderful it will be once they’re all set up in their rooms!</p>
<p>I’m skyping or texting with D about every other day–often briefly but she’s so happy. Helps to not miss her quite as much, knowing that she’s doing well. I just booked my flights for parents week-end Sep 23. 26 days but, as someone else said earlier this morning, who’s counting?!!</p>
<p>Kathie-good luck with the clean up. After out triple whammies of hurricanes five years ago we all learned a lot about mold. It can hide and spread without you knowing. Please err on the side of caution when dealing with it. It is much easier and cheaper to deal with today than in the future. Your insurance policy may cover some of the damage.</p>
<p>News from kiddo early yesterday am: storm issues were fine–
The U sends text blasts and email blasts to the kids about security and storm related stuff…and had all of the students pack food bags to take back to the rooms before it hit. They didn’t lose power though some trees were down.</p>
<p>From what I read online in the opening days calendar kiddo is busy busy busy…
Hope we hear how all of the orientation mtgs and placement goes…
This morning kiddo has to be in two places at once at 9am. I know it will get figured out…guess this is a lesson for me in letting go and having the confidence that kiddo will do fine.</p>
<p>There are so many mtgs for the freshman and so much for them to get to–I think the U has a pretty good program of keeping the kids from falling through the cracks. </p>
<p>I suspect that we may hear from kiddo when the course schedule is set and it is book buying time since the on campus bookstore is expensive. Amazon will be an option and with mailing etc, Kiddo will be able to add the PO address or the Master’s address. I know that some shipping methods aren’t accepted at the PO. Kiddo might just hit that on campus store if it looks like the readings/work is coming too fast and furious to wait for Prime shipping/mailroom messages and PO pick up. All new territory</p>
<p>Good luck to those dealing with issues etc. BTDT.</p>
<p>As for room cleaning, kiddo’s room is all organized, bed made, drawers and closet are neat and tidy. Just the way kiddo left it. DH and I are sad because it looks like Kiddo is still here and will be coming through the door. there are clothes in the drawers and closet etc. Not much yet enough for a few days. One of kiddo’s comments was that while everything wasn’t going to college, that didn’t mean it was to be thrown out/not wanted. Certainly a firm warning for “hands off”. Other than dusting/vacuuming there isn’t anything to be done.</p>
<p>No launch here yet - we are still in preparation mode. There was a Chicago-area sendoff for incoming freshman at the home of an alumni yesterday which was really nice: the college president came and gave a very nice (brief) welcoming talk, about 30-40 new students and their parents got to mingle, ask questions of some folks from admissions and the president’s office, took a college trivia quiz and got goody bags. I got to meet some very nice parents and was impressed again with what a nice and interesting group of kids seem to be attracted to D’s school. The consensus was that both packing and shopping had yet to be finished and we cannot believe our kids will be moved in less than a week. </p>
<p>I am really heartened by all the successful launch stories here. Thanks so much for sharing, and hopefully a week from now I’ll be able to share as well!</p>
<p>D was successfully launched post earthquake and pre hurricane. Lots of volunteers to help. Wonderful parent session with president and deans. D loved her pre-o trip and appears to have a group of pals already. Roomie and parents are lovely. We moved our flights earlier in the day Saturday and made it home. Little bro was great- he hauled suitcases in the airport, put shelves together, and was understanding of everything revolving around D for two more days. We are blessed! Just a few tears at parting, but we are so happy for her and she is ready. Her local godparents (both sets!) will be with her on Parents’ Weekend and we will have her home for 3 days at Thanksgiving. Several Saturday night and Sunday activities were cancelled, but D said the kids were all having fun in the dorms. Classes start today. Good luck to everyone launching this week.</p>
and having the confidence that kiddo will do fine.</p>