Parents of the HS Class of 2011 - We're awesome!

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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<p>First of all - Happy Birthday to kathiep</p>

<p>Secondly - Thanks to everyone for the kind words regarding our now finished Move-in Countdown. That’s one I am glad to have in the books and over! Thanksgiving is coming but that countdown will be short and simple to post everyday.</p>

<p>Thirdly - As previously indicated, posted below is an update on AvonSon and his activities since move-in. I apologize in advance as the post is a bit lengthy.</p>

<p>Now that the move-in countdown is over I’ve had a bit of time to provide an update on AvonSon and his acclimation to college life. He moved in four weeks ago this weekend and began classes three and a half weeks ago. He had pre-registered for 5 classes but got closed out of the 2nd English writing seminar (he was waived from the first course due to his AP Lit score). He informed us that he and a friend from his dorm went to an Intro to Psychology class to see if they could get seats as the class was listed as closed. After showing up for 3 lectures in a row and checking with the professor following class each day, they were told the class was still full. The good news, however, was that the prof was impressed by their persistence and took them to the registrar’s office where they added two seats for S and his friend. I have to give him credit for sticking with it and making it work.</p>

<p>We didn’t get a phone call for the first two weeks – just a couple of short texts. The first phone call was to Avon Mom. “Hi Mom, I have a problem”, went the call. That’s no way to keep mom in a calm and quiet state. It turns out that he was trying out for Ultimate Frisbee and one of the other players threw the Frisbee and their hand came around and caught S right behind the eye on the side of his head. He called because he had forgotten the medical insurance cards and he needed to go to the Health Center as his one eye was dilated and the vision was blurry. Fortunately, it was just a bruise that caused the optic nerve to swell a bit and the doc said he would be fine. He says he was OK after a week but has a follow up just to be sure and safe. The good thing is with a medical school and hospital on campus, he was directed to the Ophthalmology specialist from the student clinic.</p>

<p>Once that drama passed we learned that he was settled in fairly well and his roommate was working out better than he thought it might. It turns out that they are both night owls and have similar schedules. He has made a lot of friends on his floor and in his dorm and says there is always someone to go eat with. :slight_smile: He also said the dorms are well sound proofed and he can do a lot of his studying in the room and he doesn’t have to go to the library every time he needs to read or write.</p>

<p>His biggest concern is trying to figure out how to go and see his GF who is in school in Kentucky. He wants to fly out over Columbus Day weekend as he has a 3 day weekend but he says he is too cheap to pay the $400 plus the airlines want. Unfortunately, DCA is expensive to fly out of, particularly when going to a smaller city airport. Now he is debating about using his CO frequent miles instead of paying. Time will tell.</p>

<p>We got our now weekly call this evening and you could hear that he was all congested. He thinks it is a cold or sinus infection as he said a lot of kids have colds. Given all the rain and new close quarters in the dorms and classrooms, it is quite likely. Better to get it over with now rather thin in the middle of winter. He said he is going to the clinic tomorrow and hopefully will get a 5 day Z-Pak that will take care of it.</p>

<p>He said that he really hasn’t had much in the way of grades yet, but he was real excited to tell us he got selected to write a weekly political column or article for the school paper and that it may also go on the school’s public political science blog. He said it was very unusual for a freshman to be selected and that he would most likely get some extra credit for it in his Comparative US Political Systems course.</p>

<p>In summary, we are happy that he seems to be settling into his college life on all fronts. He is missed at home but we are adjusting. We will see him in 3 weeks at parent’s weekend. His HS 2014 sister misses him and is excited to see him and his new home as she hasn’t seen or visited Georgetown yet. He is making arrangements for her to stay over in the dorm on Saturday night and she says she can’t wait to sample college life. :eek: </p>

<p>We are just hoping he can stay injury free for the rest of the semester and keep up with his reading and other classwork. 19 days until we visit! :)</p>

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<p>AvonDad~Wonderful recap of this first few weeks on campus. Could not be happier for your Son.</p>

<p>Emmybet~Yay to your D great week-end :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Happy Monday to all :)</p>

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<p>Happy birthday to Kathiep
Hooray for Emmybet D
Happy to hear of AvonSon news
OWM - the apt idea sounds very smart!
Happy Monday and good luck to all our kids who may be in midterms (YIKES)</p>

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<p>EB-glad your D had a good trip into NYC!
We are looking forward to family weekend starting Friday! Can’t wait to see D. We have skyped for the last 3 weeks, which has been very nice. Other than that I get a few short messages from her occasionally. She seems to be very happy at school with her small circle of friends. Likes her classes and is getting A’s and B’s with out killing herself in work :slight_smile: . I have adjusted faster than I thought to the empty nest and quite frankly have been enjoying it (not that I don’t miss her, but life is sooooo much more relaxed without her around!!)</p>

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<p>AvonHSDad- Glad to hear that your S is happy at G’Town (my H’s alma mater). I have always liked visiting the campus. </p>

<p>Happy Monday everyone!</p>

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<p>Happy Birthday, Kath! I’m glad to hear that your son had a fun weekend.</p>

<p>Emmybet: So glad to hear that things are looking up for your D.</p>

<p>It’s great to hear about how well things are going for MOB’s S, Madbeans’s S, Sunnyday’s S, Avon’s S and Hollie’s D.</p>

<p>Things are going very well for my D. She’s one of those kids blessed with strong social skills, so she has made friends very easily. She is enjoying dorm life and gets along great with her roommate. She came home for the weekend, and it was wonderful to see her, although she was barely home. She spent a night visiting HS friends at the state flagship and had a good time, but is happy that she spread her wings and went farther away. She flew alone for the first time, and managed very well.</p>

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<p>Returned from Parents Weekend and am very happy to report that all is well! Met D for breakfast Saturday am, walked through her class schedule, moved some stuff into her room (she decided once she’d moved in that there were some add’l things she wanted - chair, coffeemaker, table…). Then met up with a group of her friends (yay!) for a big picnic lunch, followed by a football game. I’m used to Big 10 football so this was a hoot - just one set of metal bleachers, and we spent a good amount of time hanging out in the end zone where some kids (not the team members) were playing catch! After the game, a few kids said they had to do homework. D was very relieved when I suggested that I grab one of her “reading for fun” books and hang out with her in the library for a few hours. Grabbed a couple of cappucinos, took some comfy chairs in a lovely space, and we were both happy.<br>
We planned to head out for pizza with one of her friends at 7, but a group of kids, including said friend, were heading out of the dorm to go to a debate with the local rival college, and persuaded us to join them first. So we did that, had dinner, then I dropped off D and friend. D’s choir was singing at the morning chapel service, so I went to the service - the choir was awesome - then we had a quick lunch in the caf before I hit the road for the 6 1/2 hour drive home. A perfect weekend.
While D had said everything was great, it was reassuring to actually meet the friends she had talked about and hear first-hand about what she was doing. She’s signed up for several EC’s and in addition to her course load, she is happily busy. She really made it a point to put herself out there and get involved right away in new things (martial arts club - who would have thought?). She said she wanted to keep some flexibility in our skype calls so she wouldn’t miss out on any spontaneous social opportunities, which definitely works for me! It was glow stick tag and word games the night before I came. Love her school!</p>

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<p>Happy Monday, exciting Monday–S starts classes today. And I’m back to work, which was crazy when I left before taking a couple of days off for move-in and which I anticipate will be even crazier today, so I expect I will be so busy that I won’t have time to worry too much about him.</p>

<p>DH and I rearranged the living room furniture yesterday–it’s our new “free bird” decorating scheme. Little steps…;-)</p>

<p>Wishing you all a wonderful week!</p>

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<p>Happy birthday to you Kathy!! :)</p>

<p>So good to hear about AvonSon! Glad you finally got a break from the daily report to fill us in. Sounds like he’s doing really well. It’s good to hear that his persistence paid off in waiting for a spot in the class he wanted! So glad that the injury wasn’t worse. Def not the way to start a phone call with AvonMom so far away!! :eek:</p>

<p>Amanda - Make sure you post the new pic of your son in his new uniform on the Shutterfly site!!</p>

<p>Momofboston - You dd is so sweet to be keeping in touch with extended family while she’s so busy. I always believe this is a combination of nature/nurture, so take pride in raising a beautiful, caring young woman, who also by nature is just a great gal!! :)</p>

<p>Cooker sounds like you had a lovely parents weekend! Your daughter really included you in some activities with her friends. That gives you a nice inside look to her life at school. It must have made you feel really good. I’m sure it is part of a close relationship you had before college, but it still feels good! :)</p>

<p>momjr, hope you enjoyed your visit with your DD! Strong social skills are such a gift and will lend themselves to many careers in the future. I’m glad she’s used that gift to assimilate to college life!</p>

<p>kinder, I agree - G’town is a stunning campus. I grew up nearby and loved to wander. It really formed what my minds eye goes to when I think of a college campus (that and UVa where I spent summers).</p>

<p>CHS2011Mom - “freebird” decorating scheme…I love it! :)</p>

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<p>Just caught up on several pages of great news. Love hearing them all.</p>

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<p>Happy Birthday Kathip!</p>

<p>I second Flmathmom’s comments about loving to read the good, the bad and the ugly of our freshmen and their first college experiences. They are doing things they haven’t done before, and it’s exciting as well as worrysome at times! </p>

<p>My DS has been enjoying college life so far. I took him a bike a week ago. He promptly managed to get two flat tires (not sure why/how, etc). Now this is the son who always ignored his dad’s opportunities to learn to fix things. My DH can fix ANYTHING and actually does it for fun and profit. It is his hobby and stress relief. DS never wants to help unless forced. Well, now it’s on him to do it himself!</p>

<p>The good news is that he had one spare tube and changing tools (had to find a bike shop for the 2nd one). He was outside the dorm changing the tire and met a girl! So not only was he fixing something (amazing) but he also was meeting people! He’s also locked himself out of his dorm, so he’s had to find places to hang out until a roommate showed up to open the door. These are unplanned ways to meet people, right???</p>

<p>I received a bunch of texts from him yesterday. Before you all get too jealous, they were all questions needed to fill out a security clearance form for the Army. Exciting questions like “what’s my selective service number”? “Name all the places outside the US we’ve visited in the last 7 years”. And the list went on. So no news at all about whether the bike was fixed, if classes are good, etc. Just requests for data. Guess it’s better than nothing? </p>

<p>He did tell me about one summer class he’s interested in. I was emailing him about a summer trip we are planning for a scuba vacation. He emailed back that there’s a biology class with two pre-req’s: 1 is the bio class he’s currently taking and 2nd is ability to swim. Turns out it is a 4 week Marine Biology class held in Burmuda at a marine institute and the “labs” are scuba dives. Only 16 slots in the class, but he’s hoping that since he is an advanced diver with rescue certification and over 100 dives that he will be one of the lucky 16! Where were these classes when I was in college???</p>

<p>I’ve been avoiding texting him too much because I want him to connect at school. I think of multiple things every day I’d like to ask him, but I"m trying to limit it. It’s difficult to lose that daily contact with a person you’ve spent almost every day with for 18 years! But I know he is fine and will let call us when he has time to talk. We haven’t skyped or oovoo’d (did I spell that right?) yet. I’m hoping we do that soon more for DS2 than for us. </p>

<p>Have a wonderful week!</p>

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<p>Happy to hear all the good news and sending cyber hugs to the worried ones.
Hang in there!</p>

<p>Happy Birthday to Kathiep!</p>

<p>So DS did join a fraternity (a “nerdy” one, lol), was awarded a music scholarship for private lessons after his audition, and will also participate into the chamber music program (required).
Communication has been good, not perfect. There are lots of unanswered questions. I keep a list nearby that I refer to when we talk to him.
He doesn’t seem to have been too affected by the recent suicide on campus (very sad story).
Family weekend will be in mid-October. :)</p>

<p>My new job is exciting, but I miss my freedom a bit. A good thing it is only part-time. (I have 2 part-time jobs, lol).</p>

<p>Have a great day, everyone!</p>

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<p>Just skyped with DS to wish him a happy new year. We also wanted to tell him his grandmother had a pacemaker put in last week (we just found out yesterday when I called her and not only wasn’t my mom there again, but my sister from PA was there unexpectedly). Altho my sister was sworn to secrecy so as not to ruin our vacation, I forced it out of her. I needed to see my son’s face when I told him. After his initial surprise and concern, he was ok. Like us, he is hoping the pacemaker will help her chronic heart problems.</p>

<p>On a happier note, we are celebrating my middle stepdaughter’s birthday tonight. Since we have never traveled to Israel in September before, this is an exciting first.</p>

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<p>VAMom</p>

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<p>Frankly that sounds like a story for the Best Man to tell…! Too cute.</p>

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<p>After a quiet weekend without hearing from D, she called me twice today. Once, as I pulled in to the parking lot at work at 7:30. “My head is congested, what should I get?” (I neglected to pack decongestants in her ample medical supplies.) “Why don’t you get a DE-congestant?”</p>

<p>Several hours later, I received a text “My atm and debit card do not work.” </p>

<p>We changed her bank account before she left for school to have it linked with ours to avoid the withdrawal fees, and she signed up for a debit card at the same time. We sent her the new card about 5 weeks ago. </p>

<p>Me: “Did you try out the card when you got it in August?”
D: “No, I didn’t need any money then, but I did call to have it activated as soon as it arrived.”</p>

<p>I told her that she had to call the number that must be somewhere on her ATM or Debit card to tell them what happened, since it is her account, not mine.</p>

<p>She called me to tell me that for some reason, the bank had it listed that her original card was stolen, and they cancelled her card, so they will send her a new PIN in the mail in 7-10 days.</p>

<p>Good thing she has a credit card to use in the meantime! Maybe next time, she will at least try it out to make sure it works.</p>

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<p>D is annoyed that she hasn’t been able to find a work study job on campus yet. I guess the food service doesn’t hire students and there are more work study jobs than there are students. She was awarded work study as part of her financial aid and now that won’t come through, though we were budgeting that money for incidentals and not tuition payments. She’ll just have to spend less on incidentals. Hopefully the money she saved from her summer job will last awhile.</p>

<p>I am really not too worried. I think that it is OK to take the first semester anyway and settle in without the added stress of a job, though I know she could handle working 10-15 a week hours if she wanted to or needed to.</p>

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<p>D has also not been able to find a workstudy job! We are a bit peeved because we asked at orientation this summer about availability of jobs and were assured they were plentiful! Not so… She hasn’t been spending much money, so it may not end up being a problem for this semester…</p>

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<p>So D found out today that her classes are cancelled for Thursday (by the profs not a college holiday) and Wednesday is an upperclasses advising day (so no classes for anyone). She does not have classes on Friday- so she actually has 5 days off unexpectedly. If she can trade her work shifts on Friday and Saturday she wants to come home. She has always planned on coming home this weekend for two special events but after getting her semester work schedule did not want to just come home after work on Sat evening and have to be back Sunday night. </p>

<p>Needless to say I have mixed feelings about this. So I was honest with her about it because she also had planned to come home the following week for the 4 day school holiday over Yom Kippur. I told her that I didn’t want her escaping from campus every chance as “downtime” is when social connections are made. She agreed that hanging out at home twice for extended periods was not her intent. She does want to come home over Yom Kippur break for three days- but this is to bring a new friend Texas to our house so that they can travel from here to NYC and back. I can live with that…But again, so much for an empty nest.</p>

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<p>Kinder - I think you handled that really well. It’s still early and your DD is still adjusting. You didn’t tell her ‘no’, but you did tell her your concerns and why. Staying on campus when there is down time for lots of social interaction is a valid point. Your DD was able to tell you her reasoning about her friend over Yom Kippur. Weather or not you fully agree you were both able to communicate, which you always do so well with her. She does know where you stand on the issue however and will think about that the next time she weighs a visit home. It’s all building blocks.</p>

<p>So sorry about the work-study job search frustrations. I hope the your DD’s holliesue & bajamm can find something soon! I would be frustrated as well! :mad:</p>

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<p>Morning All…</p>

<p>Hope everyone is having a good week.</p>

<p>Kinder…so she wants to be home for 8 of the next 14 days?<br>
Will most others clear out, or use the time to do things together?</p>