<p>Sounds like everyone made it home safely. Hope all the trips back go as smoothly.</p>
<p>DS’s eye looked fine - no trace of the terrible shingles rash that had been in the photos he sent. Had a nice Thanksgiving, fairly relaxing, and got him off again safely. He and the kids he drove with made it back in good time. VERY good time - in fact, I don’t really want to do the math on it! </p>
<p>Hard to believe it is nearing the end of November. Several of my friends have HS seniors, and it is amazing that I was in their angst-ridden state just a year ago! I can honestly tell them, “Take a deep breath. This, too, shall pass!”</p>
<p>Thanks! She seemed to enjoy it…she’s a little “I don’t want to go to an all-girls’ school” at the moment, but the tour guide made it very clear that except for two required frosh courses and first year dorm assignment, it’s very much a part of Columbia. That surprised me a little, I thought it was more separate than it seems to be.</p>
<p>It looks like it might be a best of both worlds situation, with all the courses offered and all the “co-ed ness” but the support from Barnard for its students only. </p>
<p>My D had the same reservations when I first brought up Barnard as an option for her. It is not very separate at all. My D has men in all of her classes except First Year Seminar (a Barnard only class). She is in the Columbia marching band and Columbia Democrats and she is seriously considering going through rush at Columbia because Barnard women join Columbia sororities. The two schools are very integrated, yet also separate in curriculum/core requirements. Parts of their orientation were separate and parts were integrated. It is that mix that she is loving, I think Besides the fact that it is in NYC. Frankly, I’m envious of her experience. It is so much more enriching than my own (directional state school) college experience.</p>
<p>I appreciate hearing that. One thing she doesn’t like about Columbia is the core curriculum, Barnard’s more flexible requirements would allow her to do more of what she wants and less of what she doesn’t.</p>
<p>I grew up in Morningside Heights/Harlem, my mom got her PhD from Columbia and my dad worked right behind Barnard campus. I didn’t apply there because it was too close to home for me, but for my D, who has been raised in Ohio but has family in NYC, it’s perfect.</p>
<p>I really love how when you step into the gates it gets quiet and the quads are hidden away green spaces…but Broadway is RIGHT THERE. Truly best of all possible worlds.
I’m laughing a bit because there hasn’t been much time between S beginning college and D beginning her search process. At least this time I have some clue what I’m doing :)</p>
<p>"Hard to believe it is nearing the end of November. Several of my friends have HS seniors, and it is amazing that I was in their angst-ridden state just a year ago! "</p>
<p>I know, right? I cannot believe that a year has gone been since we were all inthe middle of the madness.</p>
<p>D is back at school. Her travel did not go smooth. We got a phone call at 5 am that her 6 20 flight had been delayed till 7 20. Unfortunately that meant that she would miss her connection. I got on the phone and talked with an agent who said they would put her on the next flight. Knowing it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving I asked it that plane was full. Of course it was. They had space on a much later flight. They also were able to book her on a later flight out of our airport so she wasn’t stuck for 8 hours at LAX. To add to the misery her LAX flight back to school was first delayed and loaded and unloaded due to equipment failure. She finally made it back to school 12 hours later then scheduled. She now hates American Airlines and will never fly them again. She had planned on spending yesterday in her quiet dorm writing a paper.
RushedMom- Ann Taylor runs some good online sales on their professional clothing. If she likes the fit of their pants she can pick up some good sales on dress slacks. Better to find good fitting clothes when you don’t immediately need them.</p>
<p>That’s exactly why my D fell in love with the campus itself. She didn’t like how NYU was part of the city, but loved that Barnard felt like an oasis in the city. </p>
<p>My son is a junior in high school and is starting to explore schools now too. It does seem like we just got through that phase with the D. Here we go again!</p>
<p>We made it back about an hour ago with the horse trailer (sans pony)… It was a bit of a bummer leaving middle son again, but he’s doing so well and will be flying here for Christmas. Otherwise, it was a great visit with the whole family.</p>
<p>Tomorrow school starts again - pending snow - they tell us to expect a couple of inches… (which is enough to close school here surprisingly).</p>
<p>Youngest son’s driver’s permit was in the mail (post epilepsy deal), so he’s thrilled. He and hubby just got back from getting milk & bread at the store. ;)</p>
<p>Glad everyone else seems to have gotten there - albeit a bit late for some. I hope the plane is on time come Christmas… no connections here - direct flight - so that should help.</p>
<p>We had a lovely Thanksgiving up at my mom’s house, ~1hr drive from D1’s college. We did it there because D2’s HS had a whole week’s vacation, whereas D1 only had Th-F off. We drove up Tuesday and back on Saturday, to avoid traffic. D1 came (carpooled with friends from the next town over) on Thursday late-morning, and we dropped her off at the BART station when we headed out on Saturday morning.</p>
<p>I’m amazed at how much poise and self-confidence she has gained in just a couple of months! </p>
<p>D1 has not been as fortunate as some of your offspring with spring semester registration. The (mandatory) physics class conflicts with just about everything else had planned to take, mostly because she is trying to take some stuff out of sequence – she wanted to move a couple of sophomore classes forward to expedite deciding between two prospective majors. We discussed some possible work-arounds, but I’m not sure how it will all pan out.</p>
<p>She is talking about moving off-campus next year, too. A bunch of her friends are planning to rent an apartment or house together. Part of her motivation is wanting to have access to a kitchen (her dorm has only the most minimal kitchenette) to be able to make healthier food. I urged her to think about some of the complications: roommates who might not be able to make rent, splitting utility bills, schlepping groceries w/o a car, having to go to a laundromat, distance from campus, etc. Right now she can wake up 15 minutes before her first class, and still make it on-time. That’ll change if she moves off campus, especially if her friends choose a more-distant rental to save money. I also pointed out that she’d probably still want to signup for at least a partial meal plan, to facilitate quick lunches & dinners on campus. I urged her to really think through all the trade-offs. Still, her campus only guarantees housing for 2 years, so she’ll have to face this transition sooner or later.</p>
<p>We also talked about her plans for summer. She is applying for a bunch of internships, none of which would allow her to live at home. If none of those pan out, she probably still won’t come home, but instead would likely stay at college for summer semester and try to line-up volunteering in a research lab.</p>
<p>Sigh. It looks like my little bird really has fledged…</p>
<p>My older daughter moved off campus Sophomore year and it was a pretty last minute situation. She was asked by two other girls who she didn’t know all that well and after speaking with the girl she was supposed to live with decided to go ahead. It had it’s moments but overall it was a great move for her. Yes, there are technical things that need to be worked out but kids do that all the time.</p>
<p>Don’t remember where your daughter is going to school but a bicycle with saddle bags works very well for groceries. My daughter’s first apartment was close to the grocery store but further from campus (costs less) but she still found the bicycle very helpful for the “bigger” shopping items. Her apartment for the last two years is across the street from campus but further from the grocery store so the bicycle is very helpful. If a bicycle doesn’t work there’s always the old fashioned folding shopping cart like my mother used to use for shopping for six!</p>
<p>It all works out, remember, we’ve been doing this for 20+ years, for them it’s new and exciting. They are also usually not as fussy as we are! Plus, if they keep the same apartment there’s no need to bring everything home over the summer. If they move to another place then they need to get their stuff out generally some time over the summer into their new place. In either case, your house survives the summer with less stuff!</p>
<p>Wife’s sister’s daughter is a senior in HS. I’m almost sure she’s getting into Harvard, but they are worried about getting in anywhere. We were nowhere near that bad.</p>
<p>Just checking in but mostly lurking these days. My MIL and SIL (and her dog) just left yesterday after living with us since Sandy made their NY homes inhabitable. they drove back to NY and are staying with friends for a day or two. The new boiler is going into their building today so hopefully they will have heat by tomorrow. My son and daughter both left on Sunday to go back to their schools so this is the first time since October that our nest is empty again. I must say, although I love my family (and my husband’s family), it is a good change to have a quiet house. I had 7 loads of sheets and towels to do today. Our food bill is going to plummet. It’s all good.</p>
<p>DS registered for Spring last night and tonight (they get split online sessions) and he is not satisfied with what was available to him. He now has to wait until December 3 to try to drop/add/swap. Supposedly registration times are assigned at random but he had bad times both last and this semester. It isn’t by credit hours either, since he came in with the maximum allowable credits (from his AP’s). He has the classes he needs, he just has bad times and not the professor he was hoping for. He signed up for 17 credits (4 classes and a PE) but will probably drop down to 13 credits (3 classes after he classes start and he sees which ones he likes best). He doesn’t need the extra classes since he already had 41 credits going into spring semester and since rush begins in January it may be better for him to take a lighter load. We are now also discussing summer of 2013. We are looking into the Summer Abroad program with the school. He has always wanted to do Spanish immersion and his college has a 6 week program where he would take 2 classes for credit and live with a family in Spain. He has to check a few things out and then apply but I think it would be a great idea. The program is over by June 30th so he still would get a nice chunk of “summer rest”. </p>
<p>D2 is graduating her college mid December and is busy finishing up the supplements for her graduate school applications. She is applying for Pharmacy programs, which are 4 years for a PharmD degree. I am keeping my fingers crossed for her. </p>
<p>D1 is studying for law school finals (L2). I cannot believe that it is almost December and I have not started any of my “empty nest projects”! Where is the time going?</p>
<p>Timely for me since DS called yesterday to unload. So tough to see your child is stumbling and not internalize it. I am counting down the days until he comes home for winter break and praying that he can figure out and do what needs to be done to finish his semester successfully and stay healthy doing it.</p>
<p>This is a great article - I just put it on my FB page for all my friends. From a parenting point of view I think it is so important to have friends who are honest when they speak of their kids. Most of us go through similar situations with our grown kids and it’s nice to know you’re not alone. I can’t stand the friends who say everything is great with their kids, you know that isn’t so.</p>
<p>As a parent you can’t and shouldn’t try to fix everything, pick and choose one or two things to make your kids life a little easier if needed, but growth comes from facing adversity and fixing it on your own. It hurts to watch and hear but it helps them to vent. (And then we come on CC on vent here!)</p>
<p>I loved the article too - thanks Mommymommy. I can SO relate to the “my first response was a palpitating heart and sick stomach” line - could have written that myself!!</p>
<p>Also, very timely here as S2 and his HS girlfriend recently broke-up (understandable since they are in different schools) and he was quite sad. They did see each other over Thanksgiving and he left the next day so I’m not exactly sure how it affected him. He seems o.k. via our text “conversations”. He is busy with papers, upcoming finals, and still navigating a room-switch due to the on-going roommate issues so I hope that keeps him distracted.</p>
<p>S1 is graduating college in May and is navigating the job search process and is fairly sure he has a job but nothing is final yet. He seems a little stressed with that, finals and his major capstone paper. Counting down the days for winter break here too.</p>
<p>It’s really hard to know how much openness people want when they ask how your kids are doing. Unless they’re really good friends or close family, “She’s doing great!” is probably the answer they want to hear. Nobody likes a whiner!</p>
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