<p>Ha! It would be totally worth it to get to hang out with you all.</p>
<p>ohiomom, given everything you’ve said, and <em>especially</em> that your S has hinted that he’d like you to come along and make a mini-vacation of it, I’d go.</p>
<p>Been busy all day getting ready for our trip to Israel in the morning. Right now I’m downloading CDs, mainly Debbie Friedman, into my iPad and singing real loud (DH is on the other side of the house). Singing is mixed with lots of happy and sad tears. For those who knew Debbie, you understand. I still miss her.</p>
<p>I guess I better get my house fixed up fast if 15 of you are descending over Thanksgiving!! Let’s party. Ohiomom, assuming UM is your destination, I definitely suggest you go with our son. It is a huge airport, not one for beginners. A large % of population speaks Spanish as a first language. We lived there 20 years ago. Let me know how I can help.</p>
<p>Kathie - hugs to you</p>
<p>Ohiomom, I’d go with him, this first time. If possible, go a few days early to do some sightseeing and just get a feel for the area. </p>
<p>When I first moved to FL, I was nervous about the Miami airport. I didn’t want to deal with parking my car, so took the Tri-Rail. Now I drive to the med school for conferences. Lots of hotels in the area and good restaurants.</p>
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<p>Wait. What? I don’t think H (or D for that matter) would take it well if I skipped out of Turkey Day. Pretty sure we’ll have to do it before or after… Jan and Feb are pretty snowy in the Northeast- I’m just sayin’ that Fla. could be looking mighty good then.</p>
<p>(AK I still get shotgun on the way home. Unless of course we are flying. Then not so much.)</p>
<p>Can’t we go somewhere more exotic than Florida?</p>
<p>Well, my backyard is pretty exotic - we had a flock of wild turkey meander through, and a ratty looking fox, then a bear was up the street a few wks ago, and of course my pack of raccoons on the deck…but I suspect you are talking exotic and beach - then nevermind.</p>
<p>**The next new student move-ins are University of Chicago, University of California Riverside, Irvine and San Diego move-ins on September 18th - Just 3 days to go!
Move-in day is in 3 days!<br>
Labor Day is past. Football season is in full bloom. Where has the summer gone? :eek:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Stanford University move-in on September 20th is just 5 days to go.
[</em>]The last new student move-ins are the University of Oregon and the University of Southern Oregon on September 22nd which is 7 days to go. </p>
<p>The LAST Move-in day is in 7 days. Just one week to go. The launching season is nearly complete.[/ul]</p>
<p>The link to the Move-in Date Thread is <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1141579-hs-class-2011-college-class-2015-move-dates-6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1141579-hs-class-2011-college-class-2015-move-dates-6.html</a></p>
<p>If you son’s or daughter’s move-in dates and schools are not listed please add them to the list.**</p>
<p>AK- Aren’t you in NJ? I hear there was some new waterfront property there after Irene? </p>
<p>(l know, not funny for those affected. I am going to hell.)</p>
<p>Would love to go to Florida with you all, but just started a new part-time job, lol…</p>
<p>Kinderny - Well, didn’t realize it was a selling point, but my house is around the highest elevation for our county so no waterfront for me alas, and I even was prepared with my 4 kayaks! My cousin owns what we call “seasonally waterfront” property in Lincoln Park, NJ. (She was evacuated in the middle of the night after the storm because the water just rose up that fast) - it’s all receeded now so we will have to look elsewhere for waterfront.</p>
<p>LOL! Florida sound too tame for our trip - what happened to our trip to London? I’ve always loved London - have a niece there now, should plan on visiting her sometime!</p>
<p>So, D texts me yesterday - “witness in police investigation - they think someone shot the window” - and then sends me a picture of a window which looks like it was shattered by a bullet!!! I am hyperventilating here at work - trying to process this when she calls. She wants to reassure me that she’s fine! Thank heavens. Apparently, someone shot at the window in their common room/lounge and shattered the window. She wasn’t there - just happened to be the one who noticed it and reported it. My heart stopped for a few seconds yesterday…good grief!</p>
<p>She also texted earlier that she got an A on her psych test. Guess she figured out that tests in college are not too different from tests in high school. She was way stressed out the previous day, multiple text messages!</p>
<p>Second thoughts - H wants to buy a second home in Florida - Tampa/St Pete. So maybe, Florida is fine for our trip - I can use the trip to scout out areas!</p>
<p>If AK brings the kayaks and I bring the scuba/snorkel gear we can have quite the adventure in FL! </p>
<p>Got the following text from DS this morning (first day of classes):
“So my first class size: 9 people and a professor who seems awesome. And this is latin 101 mind you”</p>
<p>I guess he’s liking school so far (ha, ha one class). But it’s great to hear happy news on the school front. He was debating between Latin and a new language, I’m glad he stuck with latin! He’s also got multivar calc and some biology class along with a freshman seminar and military science class, so I’m thinking he will be busy.</p>
<p>I feel like the Raven is outside my door “knock, knock, knocking”. They are working on the deck today and replacing the roof. Might I add that it started a bit early for me at 7am this morning. I’m glad I’m headed to work to get a break for all the hammering.</p>
<p>arisamp - hugs to you! I’m so glad your D is OK. </p>
<p>I’m amazed we’re almost at the end of our countdown. Soon we will ALL be in the “launched” category. That will certainly be a far cry from a year ago.</p>
<p>I have 2 more days until the “real” empty nest. I have to e-mail H with some of my scheduled meetings, activities, etc. - I think he’ll be in for a surprise, because the next few weeks are massively booked! It won’t always be like this. But I think I need to be more careful that what I’m working on is more during the daytime, or else we’ll never see each other.</p>
<p>D2 seems to be having a much better week, although the question of whether she’ll be able to come home as planned is becoming vague. She’s going to have to deal with the fact that she’s a theatre major and they have more time commitments than other students. We’ll just see how it goes - I have no intention of bringing the boom down on her. While I don’t want her mad at her school, either, this is between her and them. I will be OK with a short trip home if that’s all she can manage. Her winter break doesn’t start until almost at Christmas, so Thanksgiving could be a very valuable escape for her. I’ve even found some relatively decent fares.</p>
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<p>I will be very happy to have this Countdown completed! It seems as though it will never end. I just hope there are no lurkers out there who come forward last minute with an October or November move-in date! :D</p>
<p>Over the past few weeks (generally on the weekends when I have more time) I have gone on the HS 2012 parent’s thread to see all of the mayhem and panic and stress that we were all sharing last year. EmmyBet is correct in that our current positions are a very far cry from where we all were last year. We much prefer the planning for parent’s weekend and Thanksgiving break over Common Apps, SAT’s, letters of recommendation, EA vs. ED vs. RD, FAFSA, CCS, and so forth although I know we have to file FAFSA and CCS each year. 
Plus the younger siblings are now getting the quality time they felt was missing last year. :)</p>
<p>Yes, even the bumps of getting settled at school and learning to cope with what it brings are SO much better than the stress of last year. While I continue to feel that senior year is an extremely valuable time of growth and exploration, I wouldn’t want to do it again (and neither, emphatically, would D). </p>
<p>Freshman year of college is, indeed, “fresh.”</p>
<p>^ HA, fresh indeed coming from the empty nester! 
Those of us with chickadees still in the nest are gearing up for yet another round of ‘SAT vs ACT for 800 Alex’… or my personal favorite “SEC scholarship vs top 20 for the win Alex”. Bluejrjr is in his second week of his sophomore year and is worried about his Jr year schedule, the number of AP classes total in his hs career, Summer enrichment vs internship vs local job…:eek: He is a much different animal then either of the two that came before…nothing fresh here, lol!! I try to listen and gently tell him there is plenty of time.</p>
<p>BI, there is this thing called boarding school. ;)</p>
<p>Someone mentioned going to London. I love London but it’s always damp. We’d have to go the one sunny week of the year. I believe that is in April. ;)</p>
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<p>Of all her classes, D is most worried about Psych. The teacher has never taught Psych before and finds talking about the private lives of the famous psychiatrists far more interesting than the actual subject matter of the class. She fears (probably with good reason) that the tests will be canned exams taken from the curriculum that he is supposed to be teaching but isn’t. It’s crazy for Psych 101 to be a stress inducing class.</p>
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<p>I thought it was the fifth of May. ;)</p>