<p>Hugs to you Emilybee and to your family. That poor teen–at age 13 and what a shock!</p>
<p>Hugs to Emilybee and to your family. Sorry to hear the news.
Congrats to momjr D!
Hoping for power and open schools and everything for those of you still “out.”
All is well with D. She asked for the copy of her “resume.” She had a one pager she used last year. She is applying for a tour guide job. It makes me happy because she is enthusiastic about school.
All of MN is collectively sighing in relief now that Kim and Kris will not be shooting a season here, lol.</p>
<p>So sorry to hear about all the tragedy Emilybee. Hugs to all involved especially the child, how sad.</p>
<p>I’m pretty quiet around here these days, but my heart is going out to all the ccer’s with no power (!), to arisamp’s S’s new diagnosis (may it get easier to deal with fast), and emilybet’s difficult situation. Also sending hugs to those with kids having bumps, homesickness, and ill-fitting roommates. </p>
<p>Time heals a lot of things. I remind myself this and it can take a lot of self-talk to stay calm (on our parent side of things). It’s good to remind our kids of this, too. Just take it one day at a time.</p>
<p>And lots of hugs and chocolate (or something stronger?)</p>
<p>Thanks for the cyber hugs. I’d hug you all back if my finger wasn’t swollen and throbbing! It did get me out of cooking dinner tonight so one good thing today. ;)</p>
<p>I have no idea how far I need to go back to get caught up. Emilybee–such a sad story on so many levels. Sending warm thoughts and stress relievers to all of you in October blizzard land. What a bizarre start to winter weather.</p>
<p>I think when I last had time to post, I mentioned the great story of the 90-year-old lady who had alway wanted to become a member of the sorority that I belong to (and work for.) Well, she and the sorority chapter are going to be on Anderson Cooper’s new daytime show on Thursday. I spent two days in Topeka, Kan., last week preparing the chapter for the show and being there for the actual taping. Two days for a 10-minute TV segment! But it was great fun. No, Anderson wasn’t there in person; just via satellite. We learned today that show also includes a segment on suburban polygamy (really?) And an appearance by Anderson’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. Nice!</p>
<p>All is well on the college front. DS2 is still thriving at Mizzou and has made the first cut for interviews for the Alumni Association Student Board, a great organization that plans the traditional events on campus. It’s rare for freshman to be chosen but the interview will be good experience and he can try again next year. </p>
<p>Pretty exciting week in Missouri sports. I was born and bred a Cardinal fan so the World Series was fantastic. Then the Mizzou OT win Texas A&M. DS2 came home to watch Game 7 with us and have his older brother shave his head–part making good on a bet and part Halloween costume. (He was some video game character–I have no clue who.)</p>
<p>Wishing power to those of you who are missing it and a text or phone call or Skype or email from your DS or DD for those of you who are msising that, too.</p>
<p>momjr–huge congratulations to your D!!</p>
<p>Just trying to catch up on all the pages…that storm was crazy, wasn’t it? So sorry to those who still don’t have power. </p>
<p>I am marveling at what supportive, understanding parents are on this board…from tolerance of messy roommates to taking in those needing a warm place to stay, etc. etc.</p>
<p>D2 walked on to the crew team and had her first regatta Saturday (yes, in the middle of the storm). DH flew cross country to watch and was joined by D1 who happens to live in the city where the regatta was taking place. I was a little envious but all three called me independently to tell me that I should be glad I didn’t make the trip…D1 and DH spend 4 hours in the slush (not knowing what to expect, they arrived so early they got there before the team arrived). Shortly after D2’s race, at 10:30 a.m…the rest of the races were cancelled for fear of hypothermia–rowers are barefoot and wear shorts.</p>
<p>D2 had received permission to make the 3.5 hour drive back with her dad…took them close to 6 hours, passing accidents, closed roads…really bad conditions. The team bus stopped along the way and the kids stayed at a hotel. The coach with the van of 9 kids fared worse–they stopped at a different point and their hotel and that entire town lost power. Ugh! </p>
<p>DH and D2 did have a better Sunday and he’s home safe and sound now. I really can’t wait until Thanksgiving! Right now, though, I’m getting ready for D3’s bday party this Friday–15 girls spending the night and D wants a scavenger hunt. Need to figure that out tomorrow!</p>
<p>Haven’t talked with m d for awhile, I am guessing she is just busy. I will be going to see her in a week and half in order to see her row in a regatta. I have not ever been to a rowing event, but she says it is alot like a cross country race. I am very familiar with those so it shouldn’t be to hard to figure out. </p>
<p>It is a 15+ hour drive. I will go right by my parents house about 3 hours into it, so I will stop by and pick up my dad and he will go with me. It will be a short trip, only Friday and Monday off work, but sometimes that is what makes it fun.</p>
<p>**21 days (or less) to Thanksgiving break **</p>
<p>Just 3 weeks to go!!!</p>
<p>(Based on kids touching down at home on the Wednesday before TG. Some kids may get the full week and will land at home sooner.)</p>
<p>Hey all- sounds like we are all busy which is good (mostly).<br>
Congrats to momjr and condolences to emilybee (and arisamp sorry about the diagnosis).</p>
<p>My crew of “orphans” is leaving today. We’ll drive them back to school late this afternoon; even though classes do not resume until Friday the campus is open. H and I didn’t spend a lot of time interacting with the horde, but they all seemed nice and fun/funny. Everyone pitched in when asked to get food on the table, or cleanup done, so hurray for that.</p>
<p>kinder - that really sounds like fun. My empty house would kind of enjoy that amount of noise right now. I can imagine it was tiring for your D, since she has such great hostess instincts.</p>
<p>emily - my heart goes out to your family.</p>
<p>May everyone’s power come back today!</p>
<p>Not much news here except D1 rode a motorcycle for the first time last night. As a passenger, with a helmet, with a very considerate driver. She said it was something she’s had “on her list” for a while, but she has no intention of ever getting one.</p>
<p>It’s about a week now that we’ve only had short, positive, infrequent communication with D. Plenty of FB evidence that she’s having a good time - at least 8 new friends and some nice pics. I know she’s busy with school and rehearsals, too. Hurray!</p>
<p>Getting past Parents’ Weekends … on to Thanksgiving … I think we’re really solidly in college now, folks.</p>
<p>owm- I’m setting my Tivo for tomorrow’s Anderson Cooper show, quite the eclectic mix of topics and guests!! :D</p>
<p>Did anyone else catch the Today show this morning? They did a segment on great weekend get-aways, and the first one was Kinderhook! Maybe the orphans sent in the suggestion.</p>
<p>Collage: Sorry about the miserable weather for your D2’s reagatta. I’m sure that your H was happy to return home. I hope that Bajamm’s D get’s better weather for hers.</p>
<p>EmilyB: I’m so sorry for all the sad things you’re dealing with. Hugs.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good wishes for my D1 on the job front. Her school has a great On Campus Recruiting program, and she really took advantage of it. She’s been working extremely hard applying, writing cover letters, and going on interviews. Many of the interveiws involve solving business cases, and she spent a lot of time preparing and practicing. She still have a few more interviews for jobs in perferred lociations, but at least we know that she’ll have a job next year.</p>
<p>My mother got the story wrong and I should know by now to Trust but Verify anything she tells me (last week it was that another cousin’s husband was appointed President of a huge multinational company - which turned out to be Sr. VP.) Anyway, my 13yr. old cousin was home on Monday - must have been a teacher conference day, or something, but like any 13 yr. old he was probably watching TV/on the computer, etc., until he wanted lunch or decided to see how his mom was feeling and when he went in her room couldn’t wake her up. I can’t imagine the “if only’s” this child must be thinking. And because he is her next of kin and only 13 he can’t receive the body (and she was estranged from her family except for a sister and step father who are still in Wisconsin,) so she is still in the morgue! My cousin had to get a lawyer to get the body released to him. Apparently the mom had a stroke but I don’t know how they know that without an autopsy being done. </p>
<p>My sister is flying out tomorrow on a planned visit to see her daughter, who also lives in the bay area, so they will represent the rest of the family at the funeral and the rest of us are going in on ordering dinners to be delivered for the next few days. </p>
<p>Emmybet, hang on to your hat! My gf’s two kids in college both went sky diving and didn’t tell her before the fact, either.</p>
<p>Emilybee so sorry about your loss, what a shock to a 13 year old. Heart goes out to the family and kids…</p>
<p>Collage, brrrrrr sounds cold glad everyone survived with all their fingers and toes in tact!</p>
<p>My D missed the midnight concert didn’t score a ticket…next year. Homesickness seems better, hopefully the trip home at Thanksgiving will be a great for her she has a week off and we have a big surprise for her. Her best friend from Europe is flying over to surprise her for her birthday, we will take her up for D’s school’s big rivalry football game and friend will walk up into the stands to surprise her and then will come back for Thanksgiving! Hopefully she doesn’t read this (don’t think she knows I am on CC its my guilty pleasure, ha ha).</p>
<p>Off to get some paint for LR and DR, house we bought was “staged” for selling and they did a cruddy job and the colors they chose, although “in” remind me of baby poop from when I breast fed my kids…ha ha!</p>
<p>Enjoy the day, hope all get some power before the day is over!</p>
<p>collage1 - Was that regatta in Philadelphia? I saw a short clip of it on the news and it looked just horrible.</p>
<p>OWM - speaking of the World series, my SIL, who lives in Arizona, has a son who is attending college in IL (you know which one), near St. Louis. SIL’s neighbor is a major league umpire and was working the games. He gave a pair of tickets to my nephew and his GF! Not the last game, but one of the wins. They had great seats, a wonderful time and met the 7th inning stretch singer.</p>
<p>emilybee - sorry to hear about your terrible, horrible, really rotten day. That poor boy - how sad.</p>
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<p>Laughing here. Unless they showed the inside of my house, it is doubtful the orphans would have recognized anything in the segment. So it is unlikely they made the recommendation. 
Actually I am wrong. They did drive over to the Hunt Club kennels on Monday, and afterwards one of the visitors mentioned that he “was allergic to dogs”. :eek: Maybe this was something he could have mentioned before they went?</p>
<p>Emilybee…
What a nightmare. Did she die without a will and without guardians appointed etc?
What a tragedy and so complicated. </p>
<p>Years ago we did wills and also assigned guardians etc. It has occurred to us how they need tweaking since some of those names as trustee for the estate and trustee for the kids are now deceased themselves.</p>
<p>Fogfog, I don’t know if she had a will (she was only in her late 30’s and sometimes people that age don’t think about those things, though it boggles my mind that anyone with an incurable disease wouldn’t have something in place) but since they shared custody, I assume his dad will automatically have full custody of him. The problem is my cousin is no longer considered her next of kin since they are divorced, so he cannot do any of the things that the next of kin is required to do. </p>
<p>I just feel so sad for the son. He’s is so very bright (he was on Jeopardy Kids this summer and won) but can no longer even write his name due to the cramping in his hands from the Dsytonia, which apparently is worse when the onset is in childhood. And now to lose his mom, he has to be thinking is this what will this happen to me too. </p>
<p>At least my cousin is getting remarried (eventually, they’ve been engaged for 2 yrs) and so his son has a mother figure and a step brother and sister in his life and they all get along.</p>
<p>Very sad to hear about the boy, EmilyBee, and funny to hear about the latest weekend get-away (especially good, I hear, if you don’t have power).</p>
<p>We are going to ShawSon’s Parents’ Weekend this weekend. It has been tastefully renamed Family Weekend. I’m going out on Friday afternoon as the greatest value for me is in meeting ShawSon’s professors at departmental open houses. I like to hear what they are working on and what they think of him (do they really grasp what they are dealing with?). I’m in a field different from but related to theirs and know lots about their fields. ShawWife somehow managed to agreed to teach a painting workshop at a museum in the opposite direction of ShawSon’s college Saturday morning, so she’ll be driving out for Saturday late afternoon. Hopefully, we can take ShawSon and friends for dinner. </p>
<p>ShawWife is driving down to NY today with her assistant and was given tickets to a gala opening event of some big show. Plus there is an opening of one of her favorite painters. The whole trip is a little odd. She has to transfer a bunch of paintings to an art consultant she’s working with is, who will show them to a client tomorrow (big law firm that likes ShawWife’s work, I think). The consultant is paying for her transportation but otherwise would have paid for professional shipping. I’d just have let the shippers do it, but I’m not a hands-on guy.</p>
<p>fogfog, your lawyers probably had you include successor trustees. Our kids have now hit the point where they wouldn’t need guardians, though a good friend is the trustee of the trust that would have most of their money. Financially, they would be in great shape. I am hopeful we’ll never have to worry about this, but I guess there’s a question about where they would go during school breaks and who they’d go to for advice. I’ll have to look at the documents again as well. Thanks.</p>