<p>S spent a couple of hours at his hs yesterday visiting friends & teachers. Also numerous trips to the caf where my nephew is chef. He said it was kind of surreal. They have relaxed the dress code so he didnt even really stand out. He has an alumni event fri nite before he leaves. H would prefer to start the drive prior but what are you going to do.</p>
<p>H may not have the man cold but the flu (that is what I get for complaining), it is going on day 4 & he hasn’t left the house or gotten dressed. I’ll send him to dr today if he isn’t better. He should have gone right away, oh well. S& I had the flu shot so maybe we will be spared. It’s also concerning as they have an 18 hour drive back to school $ then on to NOLA for the big game. I’m hoping S can start the semester in good health.</p>
<p>Hello everyone - it’s nice to keep hearing the news. It’s really amazing we’re about to move into the second semester. How far we all have come!</p>
<p>I find myself kind of ready to send my kids back out in the world, am a little envious of those of you whose kids are leaving the nest again. D2’s break goes until 1/22, so she has this week AND the week after AND the week after! Fortunately we are all going away together next week, so I won’t go crazy with both girls around the house all that time. D1 is also here, between jobs, but she is putting herself together to get out there again when we get back. </p>
<p>D2’s school has a Jan term. I think we were wise to skip it this year, but I’m thinking it would be good for her to do it in subsequent years, or at least have a job or something else that’s structured for this long break.</p>
<p>D went back to school on Monday, and I miss her! She was here for such a short time that we didn’t make each other crazy, and I think we got used to being back in our former routines. She was definitely not in a hurry to get back, but fortunately the class she is taking for the January term (everyone takes just one class for that month, although a lot of students use that month to do a study abroad) is her favorite - lots of reading and discussions - and it’s the one she got an A+ in first semester.
There are a few things she is experiencing that she is not thrilled about, and she’ll be taking advantage of a little extra free time in the next month to meet with her advisor and the admissions rep that she had really hit it off with to address her concerns: I think she is still looking for some kindred spirits and while she’s made some very nice friends, is looking for some deeper connections. There are one or two activities/clubs that I think would be excellent for her, but it’s up to her to be proactive and pursue whatever works best for her.</p>
<p>My S is also not in a hurry to get back. He was testy with me last night when I commented that his 5 weeks of winter break is TOO long and there should be a winter session available!</p>
<p>Happy new year shipmates! I have been away for a few days. Lots to catch up on.</p>
<p>D leaves Sunday. She is eager to see her school friends and looking forward to a fun intersession (no grades!) taking two philosophy classes. She ended up with a great first semester GPA, but is so type A that she is disappointed it is not a 4.0. Now the crazy hard math is over! I hope she can learn to be easier on herself as she matures.</p>
<p>D spent NYE with her high school crowd. Little bro had 4 teammates sleep over. They spent the evening eating pizza, playing Settlers of Catan (sp?), and talking sports. Very low key. H and I snuck out for dinner with friends for a couple of hours while my mom watched a movie at our house to make sure there were no shenanigans. </p>
<p>D needs to register to vote (newly 18), finish the passport renewal paperwork, send out some summer job letters, and get the hair done in the next few days. Dentist was yesterday. She found two white dresses online for her future sorority stuff. It has been wonderful having her home! I will miss her terribly. </p>
<p>Little bro (14 year old) has three more weeks of first semester. We are on a block system and all his honors courses are this term, so next semester will be a breeze if he can survive until then. Now, the family focus is on his confirmation. It’s bad timing (Sunday before finals), but it will be nice to celebrate him after all the attention on D over the last year +!</p>
<p>DS doesn’t need to be back until the 23rd. He doesn’t have any structure to this month at home, but we’re fine with that. He worked hard and got himself a bit stressed out last semester, and it’s good to see him relaxing. His plans for the break include building a resume and starting to look and apply for summer jobs/internships. He went skiing yesterday which involved being awake by 10:30 ;-)</p>
<p>I was offline for nearly a week due to a small medical emergency (favorably resolved) and then holiday company. I skimmed the posts but probably missed some stuff, but will try to stay current again now ;-)</p>
<p>How I wish DS’s school had some type of winter term; I agree that 5 weeks is far too long. We can’t afford to travel, and we have just moved to this area so sorting out a job for him wasn’t in the cards. Planning ahead for next year for sure!<br>
I think some times that the more we are spending, the less time they are actually in school!</p>
<p>I’m fascinated to read about how many of y’all have students doing a January term. Please keep writing about them for those of us whose kids don’t have that option! It’s making me think about if D2 would want the option or not. </p>
<p>D1 has about a four week break, but her last final was at the very end of her school’s finals period. Some of her college friends ended up with closer to a six week break :eek: because they had no finals–a mix of classes with big projects and some freshman seminars with no final test. She’s still spending time with friends, but is also starting to research summer internships and prepare for the next term. Reviewing calculus and starting to read her Bio book are on the agenda. </p>
<p>Grades are all in and she did very well, especially considering that she was quite ill at the beginning of reading period and had to take a makeup exam in one course. She’s commented that there’s a big difference between the way people talked about grades in high school and college. At her high school, students would want to know how everyone else did on every test, quiz or paper, the better to know how they stood. At her college, people care about their own grades, but not about anyone else’s. Much less overt competition.</p>
<p>Oh what a difference 4 months makes! Back in August/September we were all crying over them leaving and counting the days until we saw them again. Now we are counting the days until they leave! I’m definitely in that second group. DS is fun to have around, but he’s managed to do next to nothing the entire time. He spends a lot of time on the computer and in his pj’s. Yesterday he took a shower and got BACK into the pjs (or lounge pants, or whatever they are called). We finally made him get dressed because we went out to dinner (and by dinner I mean supper or whatever you call that meal at night–not the one midday). :rolleyes:</p>
<p>DS2 went back to school yesterday on the coldest day we’ve had all winter. We had a few snow flurries but it’s too dry for snow. It’s supposed to warm up some this weekend. I don’t like the cold, so I’m looking forward to a bit warmer weather! Besides, it’s better to ease into the cold than have a sixty degree day and two days later have an 18 degree low!!!</p>
<p>I’ve got the decorations down, but haven’t properly put them away. The room I store christmas decorations, suitcases and all things scuba had a mini disaster yesterday. One of the racks on the wall that holds scuba gear fell off the wall. So I need to pull everything out of the room and clean up the mess so DH can put the rack back up. Just what I wanted to do (not)!</p>
<p>Here’s my tree story: for the first time in years, we decided not to get one because we were going to be away skiing over Christmas. When D got home from college, she was surprised we didn’t have a tree. She invited a friend from school to come stay with us for a few days, and she said “we have to have a tree! My friend’s Jewish – I want to show her the whole Christmas thing!”</p>
<p>I’m thinking a) she’s probably seen it before, and a better version too, and b) what else? Maybe I should do a needlepoint pillow of a lighthouse on Cape Cod? Offer gin and tonics for breakfast?</p>
<p>D went out and bought her own tiny tree (3.5 feet high), put some lights on, and it’s still there. No decorations. Just dropping needles at this point.</p>
<p>VAMom-My S is also in his pj’s all day all week long. Yesterday I found him in his pj’s when I came home and his excuse was that he had no clothes to wear because he was doing laundry. Well Ok, how about other days?! We have had beautiful warm weather here and S seems to be content just being in his cave.</p>
<p>VAMom - We are west of you and were in that silly snow-squall yesterday…what was that about out of nowhere?!? Oddest thing!</p>
<p>I too have one of those CK-PiP’s (College Kid - Perpetually in Pajama’s). He will shower and then on go the clean PJ pants. I know he wears clothes at school. I have facebook and see pictures! He does dress when he heads to see the gf who lives about 45min away. Luckily this has been a couple of times a week. Between that and family functions over the holiday he has been dressed a good bit, but given his choice he’s in the PJ’s.</p>
<p>D2 returned to Winter Term on Monday as well; actually taking a required course for her major that is kind of intense (daily papers) but she seems to like it…most, if not all, freshman return for Winter term; upper classman either return or do study abroad…</p>
<p>The nice thing about winter term at her school is that it is free if you return to campus…study abroad is obviously extra but the course credit is free…</p>
<p>The week in between winter and spring term is sorority rush…</p>
<p>My DS’s room is too cold for PJs so he actually puts clothes on. Actually he’s been living in the college hoodie we got him for Chanukah, which makes me feel good about buying it :)</p>
Wow! That is nice! The winter term at Bluejr’s school, or J-term as they call it, wasn’t something he was interested in this year and we didn’t push as it would have been more tuition $$. I also remember glancing at the offerings and there didn’t seem to be anything geared towards e’school students, although he certainly could have taken one of his humanities credits if there was a class that interested him.</p>
<p>
Also very nice! Our kids go back a couple of days early but everything overlaps. Bluejr isn’t going through greek rush, although his roommate, best friend, and gf are all participating so I’m sure we’ll hear a lot about it.</p>
<p>The last ten days of holidays went by in a blur - lots of parties, getting together with friends, some relaxing. This week, H and I are at work while S is at school. D is coming up with plans to keep herself busy! She went back to the high school this morning to talk to kids about college, met her old teachers/coaches etc. Hung out yesterday with friends. Is planning a big movie marathon tomorrow during the day at home with all her friends. I think she’s going to be way ready to go back after next week! Once she’s gone, we will likely not see her until May During spring break, she will be traveling with the team to Florida. I can’t think about that right now - too hard.</p>
<p>S mostly sleeps in his clothes that way he is always ready, sweater and all. He says it is an effective technique for college to make it to early classes. Uh ok, whatever works. He also mostly sleeps on any of the sofas in the house- even the sofa in his room. It is 10 feet away from his bed, I guess he just doesn’t want to make the commitment.</p>
<p>classof2015 - lol on the needlepoint pillow and the gin & tonics. I had several non-Christmas celebrating people over for the holidays. They are the best guests, low expectations. And I received one of the best gifts ever from one. Performance gloves with rubbery/metal tips in the right thumb & pointer for texting. What is better than that?</p>
He does dress when he heads to see the gf who lives about 45min away. Luckily this has been a couple of times a week. Between that and family functions over the holiday he has been dressed a good bit, but given his choice he’s in the PJ’s.</p>
During spring break, she will be traveling with the team to Florida. I can’t think about that right now - too hard.</p>