<p>Oh, Kathie… starting in a few minutes!! That’s classic!! You’re answer was much more zen then mine would have been.</p>
<p>Proudmom - Yes, 48hrs does make a difference, although mom’s are certainly left with the emotional wear and tear! Congrats to your DD for making it to the interview process for grad schools. Hopefully her next problem will just be too many choices. :)</p>
<p>kathie - that’s hilarious. What did he expect you could do at that point?</p>
<p>ldinct - sorry for what you are going through.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the wishes for S. He’s happy to be considered a semi finalist for the scholarship - but I don’t think he’s going to make the final cut and even if he does, I don’t think he will be going. mamom - we are also in MA - but this particular boarding school is in the midwest and he got his admission early, thanks to the application for the scholarship. He is waiting for another decision, right here in MA. </p>
<p>High school decisions aside, he’s way more concerned right now about this knee and playing basketball. Some of you might remember that he has arthrocentesis on his knee a few months ago - everything seemed great until earlier this week. His knee has been swelling up with fluid again and he’s so upset. He doesn’t want to quit basketball - but that might be for the best :(</p>
<p>D told me that she is going to play out the season no matter what. She loves the sport - so she said she’s going to play and enjoy herself. She will reevaluate at the end of the year to see if she wants to continue next year. Hopefully, she can stick with this positive attitude and not let it affect everything else!</p>
<p>The sorority stuff sounds crazy!! D does not seem interested in this, at least at this point and I think I am glad - less drama to deal with!</p>
<p>Idinct - sorry to hear your son is struggling. It is hard, esp. when they are far away. If the in-person visit could be positive and productive (e.g. brainstorm about tapping resources), your son might really appreciate it</p>
<p>EAO - glad to hear your D is feeling better and that the young women made the effort to explain the situation to her</p>
<p>Hooray for proudmom older D </p>
<p>Hugs to Arisamp D; congrats to Arisamp S</p>
<p>I do the taxes here. Dreading it this year. New stuff: D in college so now I get to deal with that new wrinkle, D has tax paperwork from two scholarships, and H spent enough time in Canada for his US company that I get to file something for that. I use what used to be Tax Cut and I felt very good about it, but this year may prove different. </p>
<p>Good story kathiep! My 14 year old S is famous for announcing on the way to the car for whatever activity: “where is my XXXX; I need it.” Often, the dirty XXXX is in the hamper where he had placed it only the evening before. He must think there are magic elves that anticipate and meet all his needs while he sleeps.</p>
<p>kathiep: That’s definitely a call I could have gotten from one of my sons!! </p>
<p>ldinct: So sorry that your son is making this so hard! If I could swing it, one of us would go. He’d know we were really serious if we showed up in person. Second best, I’d say, would be to skype.</p>
<p>proudmom: So happy to hear the good news for your daughter! Fingers crossed that she gets in all of them!</p>
<p>arisamp: Hoping things get easier with your d’s sport. I’ve heard of so many kids who give up their sport in college because the fun is gone – whether it’s because of the coach, the teammates, or the pressure. Glad she’s willing to stick it out for now. I’m hoping your son’s knee improves soon and he doesn’t have to give up basketball.</p>
<p>EAO: Well, it’s good to get an explanation of the sorority confusion. Glad your daughter feels better about it and can move on.</p>
<p>So, so, so many life lessons … it really is inspiring all that these kids are dealing with. My heart goes out to them - both with the triumphs and the challenges.</p>
<p>Found out today that a friend’s D with significant health issues has worked out a way to graduate HS and go to the college she really loves. Yet another inspiring story!</p>
<p>Kathie - I just read your story to DH. Both of us were hysterical b/c our son would do the same thing. Boys!!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the well wishes for D, she is moving on. She just wishes she had known she didn’t need to put the other sorority on her preference list, it probably would have turned out differently, that ship has sailed. As to fall rush, the only sorority that is allowed informal fall rush is the one she turned down, they have trouble recruiting members and are in danger of failing…sad I feel bad for them. as for me I don’t mind not paying for a sorority!</p>
<p>Now we are back to rooming drama for next year, nothing negative just lots of decisions to make and worry about hurting people’s feelings. As they say “Save the Drama for your Momma!” and D has perfected the art.</p>
<p>Kathiep…boys aren’t the only ones! My d4 freshman HS said this morning as she was running late for her 6:24 bus…OH I NEED A FOLDER FOR HEALTH CLASS RIGHT NOW!
Ugh! Luckily I had something I could pull stuff out and give to her…</p>
<p>Arisamp-Glad she is sticking it out and feeling more positive about it!</p>
<p>Proudmom2 Wow, 3/4, bet she gets the last one as well! Its so great to have options! Good luck to her with the interviews!</p>
<p>I am procrastinating, have to “clean” house today or at least that was the plan…should have started way earlier as I am quickly losing motivation. </p>
<p>Have a wonderful weekend. Looking forward to good new from everyone next week!</p>
<p>Sons!
So I mentioned S2 had transferred to the UK, well he gave up his apt & car before he left. Company was surprised as now he has nowhere to stay or nothing to drive when he comes back once per month. 2 hours from our house so commuting from home isn’t an option. I hear it has something to do with his taxes.
As far as S2, yes it is early in semester, about 25% complete, so he can fix it, but why would he put himself in this position again. One C & he is on scholarship probation. I don’t like living on the edge.</p>
<p>Idinct - ugh. Sorry about your son. My S may be in the same boat. I wish I could believe him when he tells me everything is “great.” I have heard those words before only to be followed by a dismal report card. Our S has this semester to pull his GPA up to all of a whopping 2.0 or he will be commuting to state school next fall. I will be sad he blew it and about the missed opportunities, but it isn’t the end of the world. It just means jumping a few more hurdles, and not having the college experience his friends are having. fingers crossed your S has come over to the other side. (and has sees mine there!)</p>
<p>Idinct - regarding second son, we have folks that commute 2 hours each way, yes that is right each way 5 days a week. I think if it is only once a month it would be doable. Get a good audio book, CD or radio station, pick up a cup of coffee and just go. He’s young, if the car (yours I assume) is comfortable, he will be OK. Hey he can rent a different car each month!</p>
<p>I think kathie’s son just wanted to know if he should keep looking (if Mom said he did indeed have a jacket there). At least that would have been my son’s thought at that point.</p>
<p>Idinct, First, are you SURE the classes he transferred in are in the new schools GPA? Our State U starts your GPA at zero when you are a transfer. Did you go online and view his unofficial transcript? The schools mine went to had it posted. You can see if they have a gpa filled in for him. S2 transferred a class from Comm coll to his first school and they didn’t count it his gpa, and I know his second school doesn’t either. (CC class was a dual credit from HS)</p>
<p>12 credits is NOT the end of the world. Why did he drop it (and is it already dropped?) If he didn’t drop yet then he should find out the deadline and keep working. S2 was ready to drop ethics because he got like a 35 on his first test. He got all B’s and up on the rest of them and got a B for the year. Something clicked and he figured out what the prof was looking for or something. There’s usually a paper of some sort that can pull grades up too.</p>
<p>It’s better he drops to 12 credits and gets the grades to keep his 3.0 What if he kept the class and did horrible and dragged the GPA to just below the 3.0?</p>
<p>I do agree he needs a talking too, but it doesn’t sound like the end of the world (I may have missed something though, so forgive me if it’s worse than I know) I would present him with the bill, advising him what he will be responsible for if he loses the scholarship, or has extra semesters if he drops too many. Maybe have him sign a contract.</p>
<p>Is he on full-ride? Does he have loans in his name? My boys know we will pay for school, but they also know the loans in their name will be paid by them if the grades don’t meet our approval. I think you can give him most of this in an email. An email which he must acknowledge or you will cut off some cash flow…</p>
<p>Good luck. I have no idea how my S2 is doing at his new school. I know he was doing an in-class essay that he had doubts on how he would do. He had the assignment in advance, so there is no real excuse. (but I always make one for him! like in this case he didn’t know anybody to talk it over with because he is new…) At least there is no scholly on the line.</p>
<p>The only way S1 manages to get to work is by living 5 mins away. He will be renting a nearby hotel 4 nights per month. He can afford it. A car is another story. A rental with all the insurances was about $400 per week as he cancelled that to.</p>
<p>S2 grades definitely transferred in. I can see the transcript online plus he did go himself down to the scholarship office himself to find out before they will posted. He has 75% of the semester left. We will know more at mid-term, he isnt dropping anything until the deadline.</p>
<p>Maybe the hotel will offer a local shuttle service that he could use to get to and from work? Public transit? cab? Does he have a credit card that offers car rental insurance, so that he could decline that and get a cheaper rate on the car rental?</p>
<p>D texted me today that she wants to apply to work at a summer camp teaching English. She does have two summers experience as a camp counselor at a girl scout camp. The kicker is that the camp is in Italy and she has to pay the airplane ticket.</p>
<p>She will earn a bit of money, though I am not sure how much money she will have at the end of the summer after the ticket is paid for. Though maybe it is a cheap way to see a part of Europe…</p>
<p>bajamm - If “you” can afford to have her return to school without summer savings I say go for it! What an experience.</p>
<p>Absolutely! If you/your dd has enough in savings to cover the year going in with a net of zero, then it would be a wonderful opportunity and something different on her resume. Think of it as an unpaid internship in an amazing local!!</p>
<p>kathiep, boys will be boys…always. My dad was famous for occasionally mentioning to my mom, after dinner, things like “there’s a potluck at work tomorrow and I told them I would bring those little cherry cheesecakes. Can you make those little cherry cheesecakes for tomorrow?”</p>
<p>coffee and tea are on; fruit, bagels and muffins are out; I am going for a walk later this morning. Feel free to come join me for breakfast then calorie burning. And, help me save us from page 2!</p>
<p>Thanks for breakfast, Bajamm! The camp option does sound like a relatively inexpensive way to go abroad. Why not let her apply and then investigate the situation more? I’d want to make sure that she’d get a chance to see more of Italy than the camp.</p>