<p>Seakayaking is a wonderful and exhausting thing. My kayak is one of those ones that is built for it and I feel awful putting it into stupid placid lakes when it longs to do so much more!! Emilybee - sounds like a great way to start college!! (Can I start my mid-age crisis the same way?) Hope your finger stops throbbing. (BAD DOG!)</p>
<p>Today is the grape harvest - those that made it through Irene, which is actually quite alot. Apparently some vermin - likely raccoon or opposum is having a feast every night so even if it’s early, I have to harvest now - hate seeing empty skins tossed about every morning. If any regulars want to PM me, I will mail you a jar of jelly when I am done!!</p>
<p>Ds is in game-day mode - kickoff is 6 pm - I found that ESPN3 online shows lots of these college games. Would love to see him and the band!</p>
<p>Well it has been an interesting couple of days. The short story- Hampshire sounds just about as good as a living away from home college could be for D. Move-in went ultra smoothly. H and I are jealous of all the great opportunities she has and realize college is a lot more fun than when we went. We got home about 9 pm last night.<br>
(And we have not see so many natural fabrics, Birkenstocks, tie-dye, and mellow contemporaries since we lived in Berkeley. ) </p>
<p>The longer story (highlights only- I promise).</p>
<p>We played the disabled card and got to park immediately adjacent to D’s dorm. There was plenty of help available and D and H only made one trip up the stairs. We took about 2 hours to settle D’s stuff in the room as she directed and H got the wireless, NAS etc to negotiate with the on campus network. D lost energy and pushed stuff under the bed and in the closet and declared it “good enough” as she needed something to eat and drink. Her “nest” still looked “stellar” and that night all the girls on the hall kept on knocking on the door to show their parents her set-up. (I think the teaset and cookie jar with hand crocheted table runner was the crowning touch.) She has bonded with a couple of women on her floor (nicknamed the “nunnery” as it is the only all female/quiet floor). </p>
<p>The IT/geek sqaud guys hung out with D for about 20 minutes (instead of moving on to the next first year needing assistance) as within about 45 seconds they realized she was one of their own. I think offering them homemade cookies and them hearing her Tribble make it sound sealed it. They invited her to meet other nerds at the Tues. evening sci fi film showing that happens each week. She enjoyed them a lot.</p>
<p>The orientation is pretty much kicking her a**. She skyped us today for about 45 minutes while making lunch in her room, wishing she could miss the rest of today and tomorrow. There is way too much together time and hiking all over without notice (which is hard with her current ankle injury), and not enough down time. Her orientation leaders are “chill” and as long as a person texts the leader, s/he can miss one or two of the 6-7 sessions each day. She is debating missing the 3 hour long, sexual situation vignette/small group discussion tomorrow. She assumes it will be awkward at best and while she says she could delight in making it even more awkward, as only she could, she feels this may not be the best use of her talents and time. </p>
<p>She is really looking forward to classes starting on Tuesday and would prefer just a day of rest without any mandatory training/meetings. She may cast herself on the mercy of her aunt (15 minutes away) as the local busses are not running until Tuesday, which would allow her to get off campus.</p>
<p>She has found that she is much more ready to be on her own (forgetting sugar and Kleenex nothwithstanding) than most of the other first years. We think living on your own in Rome and not speaking the language toughens you up a bit. D is already helping a few girls out who have to go to an adjacent campus of an associated school for language classes (and D is familiar with the campus) or to Northampton for an internship. She is going to show them where they need to go and take them on the bus the first time.</p>
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<p>A couple of the women on her floor are quite sheltered. One noted last night (the first night without parents around) how really nice this girl seemed all of a sudden and what was that sweet herbal smell she smelled coming from outside. :eek: D broke it to her gently.</p>
<p>So things are about as good as they could be during this transition time. D would rather be in her room at home until classes start- but is being a trouper.</p>
<p>Kinderny - Glad to hear move-in went so well!! I knew she made cookies for a reason! I love that she enchanted the IT guys with a tribble! </p>
<p>Fogfog - Oh my shopping list has shrunk and when I did laundry, it was about 1/3 of before. Really interesting! That meal plan is sooooo worth it!</p>
<p>Kinder - I’m glad to hear that move-in went well and your D is finding her people. My D got tired of all the organized activities of orientation also.</p>
<p>I miss my girls, but the house is cleaner, there’s less laundry and it’s easier to figure out what to make for dinner.</p>
<p>Hi everyone - congrats on the new move-ins. Kinderny - thank you for the story. Hampshire definitely is … Hampshire! </p>
<p>Have had several FB chats with D. She is doing fine, a little at odds with people gone on the weekend and not a lot of scheduled activities. I gently advised being a bit “pushier,” and going ANYWHERE she might bump into people. She knows that’s the solution, and she says she’ll keep at it. We all know the semester will pick up and get way busier any minute. She does have homework, and is going to check out the music practice rooms, the rec center, etc., etc.</p>
<p>We are on the second phase of our vacation, out in CO (another 16 hour drive). We’re enjoying the cool air and the scenery. D1 will join us tomorrow night for a few days, which is very exciting. </p>
<p>Speaking of concerts, we’re really looking forward to seeing Alison Krauss here tonight. Woo hoo!</p>
<p>We’re definitely free birds now … might feel more like empty nest when we get home.</p>
<p>bajamm- Good luck to your D during the storm. Since she is a GS, I am sure she is well prepared. My D carried her headlight and rain gear (complete with boots) during last week’s hurricane. She did say that she was well prepared.</p>
<p>We went to a field hockey game at the school today. D is still not playing due to her sprained foot, but she kept the score book. The game was really intense, and her team won 3-0! There was a very nice tailgate after the game with the team mates and parents and the coach and her husband. It was good to meet so many nice people.</p>
<p>We went to to D’s room to help her organize her pile of Command hooks and bags. The room looks much better, but it is really hard to be neat in a crowded triple. D seems very happy. She loves the school and is happy with her decision to stay on the fh team. She is enjoying her classes, and is making friends. She is even dealing with her roommate issues. </p>
<p>I am lucky to be so close, and realize that we are very fortunate.</p>
<p>Hi Everyone - Today was move in and it couldn’t have been easier. We pulled up. three profeesionalmovers unloaded he car and moved everything into D’s room. All we had to do was unpack her. Although she wouldn’t let us leave. Everytime we tried to wrap it up se invented a new thing for us to do. She was so nervous…her roommate seemed great, in fact all the kids and families on the floor seemed great!</p>
<p>So, she will definitely be fine, she texted me to tell me she was having dinner with a bunch of kids so hopefully she will get over her shyness…her dorm was fully renovated this past summer so everything is brand new.</p>
<p>I am sad…it is bittersweet but she needed to fly…it was time.</p>
<p>kinderny & momofboston: Congrats on successful move-ins! It feels good, doesn’t it??</p>
<p>fogfog: I’ve been struggling with the meals. With all 6 of us home during the summer, I was used to cooking much larger quantities than we need now. It’s hard for me to scale back. As for the laundry, my biggest laundry producer is S3, so though the laundry has lightened some, he’s still putting in more than his share. I swear he throws something in the laundry if he has it on for 10 minutes because it’s easier than folding it or hanging it up. Makes me think maybe he needs to be responsible for his own for a few weeks!</p>
<p>^ At one point or another our older two both became responsible for their laundry during hs and now we are sooo glad!! One was fairly responsible about it, the other not so much. S3 (16) will start doing his own sometime this year. Honestly I’m sure I’ll be later with him because I’m not nearly as busy and don’t mind but learning well before leaving home is important. Btw, they iron too :)</p>
<p>fogfog, mine sure has since DH has been stuck down in the bunker since the Thursday before Irene. He did make it home by 8 tonight so we went out for a burger and a beer at our local. Unfortunately, he got a call during dinner and has to do some stuff for the Gov’s appearance in a disaster area tomorrow for his Labor for Your Neighbor program, but he can do it from home so at least I’m not dateless on a Saturday night.</p>
<p>Congrats on the newest launches!</p>
<p>Boychild has been doing his own laundry for at least a year now, if not longer.</p>
<p>Grocery shopping is just about my biggest change, too, along with laundry! D is my foodie, so with her away I can pretty much skip all the experiments, international foods, interesting cheeses, etc. I also belong to an amazing CSA, and find myself putting up more than half the share (because D and H are away and S and I don’t eat that much). I’m starting to wonder if I will need to buy anything at all over the winter; my chest freezer is already stuffed, and I will continue to get vegetables through November!</p>
<p>On the laundry front, I just ordered a bunch of new clothes for S HS ‘14 because I don’t need to do laundry nearly as often so he needs to be able to last more days between loads. Backwards logic, but Lands’ End has school shorts on sale for $20/pair, and he wears medium tall polos which ought to wear out before he outgrows them (H only moved from medium tall to large tall when he turned 50). Our rule about laundry is that I do it during the school year and they do it during the summer and school vacations. So far, that has worked well for family balance.</p>
<p>I got a call from my son yesterday regarding laundry. Son: Mom, how do I use THIS washing machine? It’s not like ours. Me: I told you that it probably wouldn’t be. Just put the stuff in and add that laundry sheet and wash it on warm or cold. Son: It doesn’t have a temperature setting. It just says colors, bright colors and white. Me: I would go with colors. Son: ok. </p>
<p>Eight minutes later: What happens if you forget to put the detergent in?</p>
<p>New here. Re: laundry. " mom, it’s really a pain in th arse to have to walk down two flights of stairs just to do laundry, and my uniform takes forever to dry." I figure if that’s the worst of the college challenges, w’re doing great.</p>
<p>Love reading all the “adjustment” and move-in stories. We are all having the same experience but in uniquely different ways. </p>
<p>We’ve had a wonderful visit with DS2 at Mizzou. We had dinner with just him on Friday night. He talked for 30 minutes about college without once mentioning a class. I took that as a good sign of adjusment. We delivered care packages from his hometown friends’ parents and it was fun to see the kids excited about what Mom and Dad had sent.</p>
<p>The football game Saturday was brutally hot–95 degrees and full sun. Son and two of his suitemates signed up for the Tigers’ Lair–group of crazy students who stand in the seats between the 30-yard lines behind the team and promise to cheer loudly. (Fourth suitemate is in the band. Those uniforms had to be ripe by the end of the game.) The Tigers’ Lair kids are not supposed to leave their seats, but they did let them leave to get drinks this week. All concession stands sold out of water, gatorade and lemonade by the third quarter. True to tradition, we stayed for the whole game as did DS2 and his friends. (We have trained them well!) After showers and a short naps, we took all four suitemates and two hometown friends to dinner at Steak-n-Shake. They are a great chatty bunch who get along great and were very appreciative of a meal away from campus.</p>
<p>No classes Monday and a lot of students went home despite the footbal game. DS2 and his suitemates have plans for a relaxing two days of bonding. They all said they thought it was “too early” to go home yet. And that they already felt as though Mizzou was their new home. It made me smile to hear them talk and laugh together. </p>
<p>We are headed home this morning and will return in two weeks for Family Weekend. Love living three hours away and having season tickets as an excuse for seeing him six weekends this semester.</p>
<p>Poor D- the dorm bathrooms are being a bit of a challenge. One of two toilets overflowed 3 days ago and has been reported numerous times- to no avail. And the water in the bathroom does not get warm only barely warmish. (She is not exaggerating as I let the water run in the sink for 3 minutes and it never warmed up). Pair that with “breezy” shower stalls and bathing is a bit of a challenge. We are hoping that this improves as facilities management gets on the job. But if this is the worst, she can deal.<br>
D called for a little sympathy this a.m. Her ankle injury had gotten worse again from strain. She is going to skip today’s activities and stay off of it. She wanted to be a team player but realized if she continued to overdo there could be longer term consequences. Poor baby. But she was pretty chipper about it. Darn she is going to have to stay in her room watching DVDs and reading. Such a shame. ;)</p>
<p>**The next new student move-in is Queen’s University move-in on September 4th- Today!
Move-in day is TODAY!<br>
Labor Day is tomorrow. Where did the summer go? :eek:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Northwestern University move-in on September 12th is just 8 days to go.
[</em>]Dartmouth College move-in on September 14th is just 10 days to go.
[<em>]University of Chicago move-in on September 18th is just 14 days to go.
[</em>]Stanford University move-in on September 20th is just 16 days to go.
[li]The last new student move-ins are the University of Oregon and the University of Southern Oregon on September 22nd which is 18 days to go. </p>[/li]
<p>The LAST Move-in day is in 18 days. Less than 3 weeks to go. The launching season is nearly complete.[/ul]</p>
<p>kinderny - what a SHAME! I know that if I had forced socializing such as during ds’ registration, the one thing I craved was that hotel room and a remote control.</p>
<p>Current vent is on two fronts: jelly that won’t/refuses to jell and espn3 which promises you streaming videos of various college sporting events but then talks or puts commercials on during all important band halftime performance. Got to see only part while graphic of someone’s stats was on the screen and old men talking about so-and-so. Ds had a fantastic time - sent me a pic and txted when it was over. He was apparently part of “travelling band” which runs around the stadium playing stand tunes here and there - said it was the most exercise he’s had in his life.</p>
<p>Very nice to hear about everyone successfull launches! Good luck to todays’ launchers</p>
<p>Kinderny~I think resting is the best policy at this point. hope she has a nice day
Amanda~Urgh!!How aggravating. well at least you now he had a great time. </p>
<p>Things here are at a very quiet normal.</p>
<p>S2 has been texting everyday, just saying hi and sharing his excitement about all new things, people and classes. He swapped one class for another with a better time slot and professor. He seems to be settling in a nice routine.</p>
<p>Last night, we had our neighbors over for an impromptu dinner.
Had some wonderful conversation and food. I could get use to that!</p>
<p>With S1 departure last year we had to adjust our food shopping, so this year we are ready for less is more!
Dh thinks it means we can upscale our meals, so the $$ will remain the same :rolleyes:</p>
) </p>
I know that if I had forced socializing such as during ds’ registration, the one thing I craved was that hotel room and a remote control.</p>