<p>Just realized the whooping cough story was from Barnard. I thought everyone had to have been vaccinated. Hopefully, D is up to date. She got some shots and filed a form.</p>
<p>BTW: Pertussis outbreaks have been occurring here and there because a good percentage of parents have decided not to vaccinate, relying on others to do it in sufficient numbers. Whooping cough can kill infants, and they are too young for the vaccine.</p>
<p>I thought I was being clever by sending S with a Swiss Army knife (two blades, screwdriver heads, bottle and can opener and cork screw.) Turns out that at UR they fall into the weapon category and he could get suspended for having it. Strangely, it is just fine for him to have cooking knives so he traded it to Grandpa for a paring knife with a blade 1"longer than the one he couldn’t keep.</p>
<p>PNWedwonk - they’re not allowed?! eeek - S has had one for years, I’m sure he has it with him. He doesn’t use it in knife fights- he uses it to open packages, bottles, etc. Are they allowed to have it in their dorms or just not carry around? Where did you see this rule?</p>
<p>Columbia health service called my D and asked her to come in to get checked out. She called me tonight, quite nervous about that and I told her to go but not to worry. I explained it is just like the school not letting someone with pink eye come in or not allowing them to return after being diagnosed with strep until they’d been on antibiotics for 24 hours. There are protocols they have to follow with certain infectious diseases. She was pretty freaked out but I reassured her.</p>
<p>Everybody is supposed to be vaccinated but if there are objections, they can’t really force it. Additionally, sometimes people don’t develop the antibodies to it even if vaccinated. I’ve had the Measles, Mumps, Rubella shot at least 10 times now and I don’t titre for antibodies to Rubeola. Working in health care, they kept giving me the shots, thinking someday it would take but it never did. Thankfully, Rubeola is the less serious of the two types of measles in that vaccine. </p>
<p>As for forgotten things: D decided she wanted a sleeping bag in case a friend of hers or her roommate’s came to spend a weekend so I shipped that. She forgot a measuring cup for water for her ramen. When I did the final walk through before she left, I saw the graphing calculator on her desk and suggested she take that. I realized this week she forgot her plastic loofah scrubby thing for the shower. She can pick one of those up easily enough, I would think, but she hasn’t said anything. She can also just use wash cloths.</p>
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<p>My guy can’t use these in his Calc class. I sent him with it in case he wants to use it for homework checking, but they can’t use them for tests, etc. Seems the math profs actually want the kids to learn the MATH - not pushing buttons. My guy won’t have any trouble with that, but if other students are like those I work with, they’ll be in for a surprise. The math teacher in me loves the idea.</p>
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<p>The boxcutter and many function pocket knife we sent my guy with he returned too. It did seem strange… but whatever.</p>
<p>He sent an e-mail to me today - still loving his classes, his job, and having a blast overall. His hall is quiet - the few who care to party do it elsewhere and don’t return blasted (except for one who is no longer there). He also opted NOT to do the HIV vaccine trial. That suits me… and it truly was his decision. Any BINGO letters for that?</p>
<p>Rubella (German measles) is not a serious illness but causes major birth defects in nonimmune mothers. If you’re, uh, past childbearing years, it’s okay pretty much not to be immune to Rubella. (Rubeola is “regular” measles, btw). </p>
<p>Yup re pertussis. Major outbreak in Washington State. We talked about this waaaaaay back in the thread. Get your teens and yourselves boosted!! It’s just the tdap, every ten year one. You will protect babies, who die from pertussis (at least ten so far this year in CA) and you will protect yourself and your teen/young adult from a very very annoying and pain-in-the-butt illness.</p>
<p>All school age kids in CA had to have a tdap before returning to school last fall…we had to turn in the paperwork before the first day of school. There are frequent tv public service announcements about the need to be vaccinated</p>
<p>My sons have said the same re graphing calculators. All math and physics classes are done with variables, not actual numbers. So they can have the TI-89 (top of the line graphing calculator) but the basic $9.99 scientific calculator from Target will do just as well for them.</p>
<p>Pertussis vaccines are only about 60 percent effective. It’s much better than nothing but standard treatment if you’re exposed is prophylactic antibiotics. We’ve been through a couple of epidemics here (I’ve had pertussis twice, once after vaccination in childhood, once as an adult.</p>
<p>Things we had to send: scan of his health insurance card (got health and dental ones mixed up) and posters (ordered him a poster “care package” to cover his bare walls–hope he likes them!).
Things he picked up at Target after being there a week: more workout clothes for PE and hand soap for shared bathroom.</p>
<p>Things I am considering sending: the things she decided she didn’t want and pitched back into an empty container for us to take home after moving her in. {eye roll} For D this amounted to a couple of curling irons and a dry erase board.</p>
<p>I’m trying to tell myself that things she didn’t want and/or forgot and/or that I forgot and are obsessing about are just more things we DON’T have to move back or store in the spring!</p>
<p>eyemamom, S said RA told them at one of the first hall meetings as part of the list of all the violations the RA would be required to document. I flew home with a carry on so had to leave it with Grandpa.</p>
<p>I launched my daughter last week- no issues , and the only important thing I forgot was the 20% off everything BB&B coupon- I have THREE of them plus about 60 single item coupons but none of them went with me. I can take the receipt and coupon to the store here and get a credit.
I spent two days in NYC and four in East Hampton before returning tonight. After days spent contemplating the joys of living alone I came home to find that S2 (recent Cal grad) who had been staying in my apartment decided he wanted to move home. So the empty nest is not to be.</p>
<p>Can’t you take your receipts in with the coupons and they will adjust the bill?</p>
<p>Got back last night from dropping off Freshman daughter and it could hardly have gone worse! All four of us went (older daughter has not started school yet this year) and it was a good thing. Had connecting rooms and around 2:30AM younger daughter comes into our room and starts with she’s not going, please don’t make her go, etc. etc. etc. Finally got her to sleep around 4:00AM with a negotiated we’ll visit every two weeks if she wants us to.</p>
<p>Get to move in about 1/2 hour early (She does better when the crowds grow around her rather than her joining into a crowd.) and we start unpacking. Every 20 minutes or so she starts in with “I want to go home.” or “Please don’t make me do this.” or “Let’s pack everything back up.” or something like that. Then her roommate comes in and it doesn’t get any better. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, her RA is one of the best I’ve ever seen - she was homesick, still Skypes with her mom every day, very understanding, knew when to interject and when to walk away, really quite mature for a sophomore. There’s a suite meeting in the middle of the move-in so the parents leave and then meet up again for the President’s welcome. She hasn’t finished unpacking, hates it even more after the meeting, etc. Husband suggests older sister takes younger one to President’s Welcome while parents finish some of the move in. Great idea, we get to the welcome and see both kids playing cards with a group of Freshman, daughter is talking and laughing. After welcome it’s time for us to leave (they were very strict about the day) and daughter becomes hysterical, don’t go, how can you leave me, I hate it here, etc. Now, in the back of my mind I know that if my daughter really didn’t want to be there she would have never gotten out of the car when we arrived to move her in but still I felt that we were moving one step forward, two steps back.</p>
<p>We spoke a bit more, said goodbye with tears running down her face, and left. We were all exhausted. My older daughter said she thought this was more stressful than when she moved in as a Freshman. Husband said he was too in shock to even cry (which he immediately did with older daughter). Finally arrive home and husband starts crying like a baby, he’s so upset and worried for daughter.</p>
<p>Younger daughter asked for us to call when we got home so I checked her Orientation schedule and saw there was a 1/2 hour break shortly after we arrived home so calmed husband down and called her. She was cheery, laughing, walking with some other kids. “It was much better after you left.” OMG!!! It was all good, handed the phone to dad, he said a few words. I immediately sent an email to older daughter (who wasn’t home) who got back to me immediately really appreciating knowing her sister was okay.</p>
<p>Woke up this morning to an email from younger daughter saying goodnight mommy and daddy with a happy face. I think she’ll be fine now, at least until classes start and she stresses about that. I do know this is the absolutely right school for her, nurturing, friendly, helpful, etc. by administration, professors, and students. I do think we’ll make it through Freshman year.</p>
<p>As usual, thanks for listening.</p>
<p>Wow, amtc - I can’t imagine! It must have been very difficult for you. It sounds lucky that your older daughter was there to provide moral support. Here’s to smooth sailing for the rest of the semester!</p>
<p>And I get a BINGO chip for having the first kid to sleep through a morning class. :(</p>
<p>Dear amtc,</p>
<p>So glad you received that happy email this morning. As a parent, you are only happy as your most unhappiest child. I relived all those emotions that I had with my son as a freshman reading your post and so relieved to read the last paragraph. I have found that it is never the same experience for each of your children, at least that is my case. I hope your daughter has a great year ahead and maybe there will still be moments of self-doubt ahead, but they need just reassurances… One day at a time, that’s all. A collective sigh of relief for you.</p>
<p>Wow, amtc. So glad for the last paragraph of your post. I thought our launch would be like that, but so far it’s been great. Maybe your daughter is like many of our kids who we left crying at preschool only to have a blast once Mama left.</p>
<p>amtc - {{{hugs}}} to you. I was so glad to read your last paragraph. I will be crossing my fingers that all goes well for your D.</p>
<p>My D is up and down. After wanting to go to school in NYC for so long she now says it is too far from home even with her sister there. She loves her roommates and likes most of her classes, but says she doesn’t think this is the place for her. We have told her that it’s ok to make a change, but she needs to give it a year there.</p>