<p>notakid - I missed the sad news in your post yesterday. So sorry to read about your S’s friend losing his dad. </p>
<p>I’m enjoying the easier household responsibilities. It really is easier with just one kid left at home. Still miss my older guys though. I talked to my freshman a couple times this week - once for an hour, and then again for about half an hour. Trying to just chat and not give advice. Oh, I just remembered he’s going to Niagara Falls today, so that’s fun. I’ve talked to my junior a little, but only briefly. This is his year to figure out grad school applications and make sure he is getting all the credentials and experiences he needs to be a good candidate. </p>
<p>We had a really nice storm roll through here last night. I’m just so glad to be getting rain again!</p>
<p>notakid, that is heartbreaking. I’m glad your S is there for his friend.</p>
<p>D has called twice a day all week to tell me every single thing-- all her life she has saved up her whole day and reported it back. Yesterday it was a five minute call interrupted when she bumped into a friend…she’s immersed and involved there. Bittersweet! (But I did spend the afternoon reading and swimming on the beach.)</p>
<p>My D seems to be adjusting very well. She really likes her professors and I don’t think she spent as much on books as notakid’s D did. She ordered a lot from Amazon. I didn’t add it all up, but she has more in her checking account at this point than I thought. I did get a text “I need help making a resume!” I sent her a template with a few of her activities listed and some instructions for what kind of detail to add. That should get her started. Apparently they want a resume for work study jobs. </p>
<p>One of her friends who is going to a closer school stopped by the house last night to chat but I wasn’t home. She left a message with my son “Tell Momma B that I love her and miss her!” She later posted on FB that she had only been home for a few hours but was already bored. I think the realization that “home” isn’t really “home” when all of your friends are away at school has hit that young lady.</p>
<p>Maybe this is more appropriate for the “Jewish kid” thread, but my “optomistic agnostic” son who said quite clearly, “no, I will not be bringing home a religious girl (any religion) and I AM NOT going to Hillel on campus, mom”, sent me a picture last night of him, his roomy, his new Israeli friend and another friend all at Hillel friday night dinner/services. Warms a mother’s heart. Not that I am thinking this is a complete turn around, but maybe, maybe the door has been cracked open just every so slightly and a glimmer of light is shinning through. A mom can dream, can’t she? More than likely he was there for the free wine, for a girl, or because one of his friends said, “sure I can go to the clubs, I just need to stop off somewhere real quickly”. LOL! </p>
<p>Notakid- so sorry for your son, his friend and his friend’s father. Glad he is able to be there as a support system for his friend.</p>
<p>notakid - I’m sorry to hear about the death of the friends dad. It must be hard on all of them being all over and not together.</p>
<p>I had a couple moments of really missing s and then it occurs to me - just text him! So we texted twice this week - once just to talk about the cat. He received the care packages (yay! he found the post office lol) He loves 3 classes but doesn’t like his engineering elective which is digital music. He was even thinking of doing a music/sound engineering major so I’m guessing there goes that, though that class falls under electrical. He even came up with his own solution to contact his advisor to see if he could switch to a different one. He said it wasn’t too hard, it just didn’t interest him. The way I look at it good to find out now what he doesn’t like. I’m guessing it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like engineering, he doesn’t like that specifically. </p>
<p>No clue what he’s doing socially. I’m assuming he’s okay or I would have “heard” it.</p>
<p>Oh, my food bill has gone down dramatically and I’m still trying to figure out how to make portions for 3. I’m so used to doubling every recipe. It’s actually much easier and quicker to cook now.</p>
<p>SF… Those darn pesky girls… they are such a distraction…LOL! Your S sounds like he is adjusting quite nicely:-)</p>
<p>Well, here is my weekend project. Try to clean out DS’s room so he has a place to hang his hat for a few weeks before he leaves again. He has not seen our new house since the move because he was already gone on his hike. So far we have used his room as a storage place for all of the stuff we don’t know what to do with. There is a bed in there somewhere, but just have to clear a lot of stuff off of it. He has no clothes, so my clothes occupy almost his whole closet.</p>
<p>Oh well, it will keep my mind off the crazed feeling of excitement if getting to see him 2 weeks from TODAY!!</p>
<p>Tonight my girlfriend and I are hosting a 16th beach bonfire birthday for our two boys. Only a mere 65 teenagers…wish me luck… I am going to need it.</p>
<p>So glad to hear everyone’s kids are settling in to their new adult lives on college campuses. I am learning many new things lately about what it is to mother an adult. Some moments I am not too sure I like it, and at other times I feel so proud. He celebrated his 18th birthday just days before he launched.</p>
<p>He’s very excited about his school. He loves it. He auditioned for and got into the orchestra and also lessons at Eastman, so he is a very happy young man. I only wish I lived closer to him but I know it is just the mommy in me.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Mamaof1! That’s very exciting. A friend of my son’s from his former symphony is at Eastman as a violinist, and she’s very excited.</p>
<p>Boysx3 (I’ve got 3 boys, too!), my son tells me he’s sharing a textbook with someone from his dorm (a girl!); I guess they live close enough to make it happen. He said, “her name is XXX in case you want to stalk her on FB.” LOL The other book he’s sharing is a free pdf, so I guess he can just get a copy of it.</p>
<p>One class doesn’t have a textbook (printable readings) and the other he borrowed outright from a friend. His last class is ballroom dance, so it sounds like he’s good to go.</p>
<p>My D is posting photos that show she is having a good time at school, however-- 1) the articles of clothing she and her friends are wearing are quite small and 2) there are boys. Quite a few boys. Hmmph.</p>
<p>“Hi Mom, The liquid soap that I have, is that a detergent or a softener?” </p>
<p>Kid knows how to do laundry, but we don’t use softener. Found out he has been putting the soap in the wrong compartment…</p>
<p>Also had texts from my daughter last week. She needed to buy a book from a teacher and needed exact change. Kid did not know how to get exact change. Did not know you could go to the bookstore and ask for change w/o buying anything. </p>
<p>All the weird little gaps in one’s education. Do I get any BINGO points?</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the supportive messages. Can’t help worrying about the kid. His parents had separated, and he’d been living in an apartment with his dad. Plans to stay there with a couple of friends who, like him, aren’t going to school but have jobs. Don’t know how viable that is. Anyway, it’s a reminder that most of our troubles are pretty small.</p>
<p>notakid - I’m sorry to hear about the friend’s dad passing.</p>
<p>Got a call from DD. She sounds upbeat. She likes her RM, but RM has been crying every night because she is homesick. DD tried to console, but no dice. When the crying stops, DD just heads for the library or another friends room. Bummer.</p>
<p>PN! LOL You have to know that I am incognito on FB and am only on (with my son’s permission and welcome) to occasionally check his FB to make sure he’s not saying anything he’ll regret for the rest of his life. BINGO! I did check out the girl. She’s very pretty…</p>
<p>glido, that sounds challenging. I’m glad your DD is trying to be a friend, but that doesn’t sound very fun right now.</p>
<p>tozubri-- I LOVE the exact change story. So many things we didn’t know our kids didn’t know!! My D texted to ask how to address an envelope. Sigh. </p>
<p>PN-- I know! I have never been so happy to be wrong in my whole life.</p>
<p>Quick update - daughter is so happy and I am so proud! True that classes haven’t started yet and that might be a bit of a stressor but as of tonight she is really happy. She doesn’t like her roommate but has been able to work around that so that the roommate doesn’t know and all is peaceful, she got into two classes she hadn’t expected to get into but did not get into the one class she thought was a certainty. She called for help with some alternate choices but handled the rest very well. She’s starting to have a few “good” friends, at least people to have meals with and to laugh with, so it’s all good. What a relief! I’m sure she’s going to make it. It is so much happier to be an empty nester when your kid is happy.</p>
<p>As an aside, it was kind of odd when I went food shopping for the first time since having no one home - skipped over the vegetarian aisle, the junk food aisle, and the soda aisle. I have my milk delivered and go to a specialty store for fruits and vegetables which left a very small shopping trip. Must admit, I was a bit confused! </p>
<p>Thanks so much to all of you who commented and to those who didn’t; it really helps to release the tension by sharing our rough times.</p>
I did check out the girl. She’s very pretty…</p>