<p>DS is off and away - returning to school yesterday. Another one who is thrilled with Southwest: direct and inexpensive flights, includes baggage, and very accommodating to peanut allergy. DS not coming home for spring break but already made reservations for trip home in May. Think one of us may need to go up and bring extra suitcases and sort storage issues - like many kids, this kind of stuff overwhelms him. Time will tell.</p>
<p>And like many of you ambivalence reigns. Happy he’s happy, and life is easier in many ways when we are on our own schedule. That said, his cat sat on his empty bed and meowed piteously this morning. Perhaps kitty is more comfortable vocalizing some of what this mama is feeling.</p>
<p>Here is to good second semesters for all our kids!</p>
<p>Last night, I waved goodbye to my sobbing daughter as the train left the station. She really dreaded going back. Home is nice. She can control what she wants to watch on tv, she can sleep late and gets decent dinners. At school, she lives with very childish, obnoxious and selfish suitemates. It took her all day to pack up, with moments on laying her head on me and crying about leaving.
When she left, the look on her face, I felt like I was making her go away to war or something, like I would never see her again. (She has spring break the first week in March- so what’s that, about 6 weeks? And then a long weekend for Easter break.) </p>
<p>I felt so bad, I cried too. My little one would not let me drive home until I stopped crying. We sat in the parking lot for a while, my 12 year old talking to me and calming me down and telling me that DD will be ok once she gets there. </p>
<p>I’d feel so much better sending her off if she were happy to go.</p>
<p>LL - Sending hugs and strength a mother needs when one of her chicks is not happy. It must be very hard. Hopefully she will feel more settled as the days and weeks move along this semester.</p>
<p>Lefty - big hugs coming your way. I can’t imagine sending off an upset child. Hopefully this semester will improve. Perhaps she can try to tackle one or two of her more unhappy situations and try to change them. Perhaps she will be in better spirits at her first break.</p>
<p>I guess I’m one of the few with a child still home. He is being somewhat productive getting a few internship apps in. I don’t think he understands how many other kids will also be applying.</p>
<p>We definitely enjoy when DS is here but also enjoy the ease of being alone. Much less shopping & planning. I know he is happier at school. I hear him for hours at night on the phone laughing. It makes a mom so happy. I have no idea when we will see him next. Spring Break & summer are big ??? Time will tell.</p>
<p>LL - I’m so sorry to hear about your D’s unhappiness. It must be awlful for you and her. She shouldn’t have to live in such an unpleasant situation. Has she tried to switch her room?</p>
<p>Welcome back Emmybet. Glad you had a nice trip.</p>
<p>Collage1 - Glad to hear that D1 handled her illness so well and congrats to D2 on her acceptance to the engineering program.</p>
<p>So sorry, lefty. It must be hard for you to see her sad. My D was very sad for a time last spring. Now, she is happy with how it has all turned out and knowing she navigated herself out of a difficult time will give her some ammunition for the next, inevitable, bump in the journey. I hope your D feels better soon.</p>
<p>I haven’t tried the polarplus so I don’t know how they compare. I bought them on impulse for my kids for Chanukah 2010 and bought a set for my DH and me this winter.</p>
<p>Lefty- hugs being sent your way. It is hard to be upbeat when your D is so upset. Hopefully, she will be fine once she gets to school.</p>
<p>We saw D1 on Sunday, since we ‘kidnapped’ her to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D. It was her all time favorite movie when she was little, and I even made her a “smart Belle” (aka- peasant Belle) costume for Halloween. The good thing is that we were not the only group with teenaged daughters in the theater.</p>
<p>She is doing well, and is spending more time in her room. She said that the roommate situation has improved since they had their talk. They agreed to turn off the lights if someone was asleep, but she does like the curtain I made for the bed. She said it is like being in a cocoon.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. First two classes seemed good, but no, the suitemates are no different than they were last semester.
There was a 7th girl in the suite who didn’t get along with any of them, although my daughter tried to be nice. The girl was suicidal and had a lot of issues, the other girls in the suite were not nice to her. She moved out and got her own apt. and of course, took her stuff with her, including the flat screen tv and the bathroom rugs. So the other girls are complaining that now they don’t have a tv, and how could she take the rug? Uh, she moved out… why would she leave her stuff there… they were all so mean to her anyway… but they are moaning and groaning… it makes no sense. </p>
<p>DD is happy there is no tv. Maybe everyone will go to other people’s rooms to watch tv and her livingroom won’t be the party room everynight. </p>
<p>She can’t switch suites until next year. She has someone lined up to room with for next year that will be better, and two others they are going to ask, so they will be a suite of 4 instead of 7 they have this year.</p>
<p>My D hung a bedsheet to make a tent out of her bottom bunk. It has been a lifesaver for her. D1 suggested it, after living in a tiny bunkroom at a field station with 8 other people for 3 months. D2 was really bothered by her roommate’s desk 3 feet away, not only because of the light on at all hours but also because the girl’s face was directed towards her - kind of creepy when you’re trying to sleep.</p>
<p>I think these kids are real champs for surviving what I think is really a nightmarish living situation, especially when you factor in maturity and stress levels.</p>
<p>Leftylou, Sounds like a horrible situation for your Daughter and so hard to send your child on a train knowing how sad she is! I think that was the biggest shock for me as a parent, how much it hurt physically when they were hurting. When I think of what I put my mother through! Hopefully she can endure this semester and the other suitemates will stay away as much as possible.</p>
<p>Went to see War Horse with a friend from High School, special 5 dollars on Tuesday nights. It was nice but think I would wait for the video or netflix, the ending was hokey and reminded me of Gone with the Wind with the coloring of the sky!</p>
<p>LeftyLou, I clearly don’t know the particulars but had a difficult roommate my freshman year – one of three roommates was a jerk and clearly felt threatened by me (not clear why) and was very hostile to me. I made other friends, spent lots of time in their suites, and they became my roommates for the next three years and remain my friends decades later. I wonder if she should just center her life elsewhere and use her room for sleeping only, as I did. </p>
<p>ShawD is now set up in her triple (with no roommates at least for now). She had orientation today with the roughly 40 girls who are transferring in. She then spent 2+ hours with her advisor trying to understand her options and requirements and then pick courses. Not clear how much transfer credit she’ll get, but she’s got some distribution requirements to meet. She has two nursing courses this term (yay – this is why she transferred), a required writing course, a required multicultural literature course (she hates this kind of course), anatomy and physiology (she loves this), and maybe a language course (unless she places out). We hope this works out well. All looks good, but the change was so abrupt.</p>
<p>Going on 9 days with no communication from S2. It definitely has it’s plusses & minuses.</p>
<p>Got a chance to worry about D this week, she had LASIK Monday & wasn’t initially feeling to great about it, but is feeling much better now. She was almost at -5.0 so this will be a huge help. It gets a little dangerous to get out of bed in the am not being able to see anything without your glasses or contacts. She lives in SF & the thought of some kind of middle of the night emergency is the type of thing us moms worry about.</p>
<p>Update on S2, got to the UK, found the driver, made it to the new office etc. He did mention that he didn’t have a coat & was wearing 3 sweaters to work. Ugh, the giant parka was stuffed into the front zipper pocket of your suitcase so you would have it when you land. Found It!</p>
<p>H & I both gained 2 lbs this week which is a little disconcerting as we both have been eating healthier, maybe too much healthy food. I’ve worked out 14/17 days this month. My clothes are a little less tight but I need to drop some of the 10 lbs I put on Nov-Dec & then some more.</p>
<p>Wishing everyone’s kids good luck as they start the semester, I know a lot of them are facing different challenges.</p>
<p>Congrats to ShawD! I think she is our first transfer. Good luck to everyone on a great new semester, including us old folks dealing with life at home. I’m off to a conference for 3 days so the girls will do their packing without me around. Hurray!</p>
<p>My son leaves this Sat-sorry to hear about the kids who had a rough first semester-that’s the tough one they say but as I’ve told my son you have to stay on your toes-I love it-he already received homework from his economics teacher due Tues-24th!!! Mind you the book was delivered to school-guess all the kids are in the same boat-
He did really well first semester and they don’t curve-He missed an A in one engineering course by 0.5. Of course he came home with an “attitude”-I told him lets drive ya right back up-his concern was there is no food during break-guess he likes it?
Waiting for responses from colleges for D2-yes got to do it all over again-
Quick question doe anyone rem-what is more important with the dorm bed linens-the mattress pad or foam insert-I am going to a portfolio review at Carnegie with D2 and cant bring my son back up to RPI-Dont think Ill get an answer from the men Thks
Good luck to all second semester</p>
<p>Bugger is right!! You’d think they would give a break to poor parents of college kids…what’s that phrase we used when we were outfitting the dorms, BLEEDING MONEY! So sorry STove. Luckily for me the only thing Bluejr forgot was his laundry hamper. We told him to use his duffel bag and I’ll bring it to him sometime next month. We have Amazon Prime so I could send him one for $10 if he gets really cranky w/o one.</p>