<p>Carla2012, DDHM, Amazhon, I think you all should consider getting a dog. I’m not entirely kidding, if you are spending your time cleaning (?!) or thinking about moving to the college town. Get one that is at least a little small so it can cuddle on the bed. Then you can train it, walk it, take pictures of it, talk to it, take it in the car or on the airplane to visit DD/DS. Just sayin’. ;)</p>
<p>Carla, you made me laugh. Nice to know D hasn’t cornered the market on adds/drops. I’m happy to say that yesterday she moved one class, dropped 2, added 2 and is now set. I hope. Add/drop period ends Monday. </p>
<p>But I consider this a wrap and she is really launched! Yeah!</p>
<p>I’ve had thoughts of a dog, too. But we decided to go low maintenance and buy that larger tv we’ve been holding off on until we were sure we could cover tuition! I’ve had enough care-taking for a while - the tv is sufficiently distracting for now.</p>
<p>TV? I cancelled my cable because I didn’t have anyone to watch movies with after launch. My big screen is collecting dust… College Confidential is my entertainment now.</p>
<p>On a positive note, most of my shows are on hulu so when when i break from my internet research (hum, hum) I can catch up on what I’ve missed. I saved $100 bucks this month.</p>
<p>Ds called tonight, totally chatty. Best news … he thinks he finally got a job. And, thankfully, there is no worst news. :D</p>
<p>Oh, Amazhon, that’s sad! We’re preparing to cut cable ourselves now that D is out of the house. We’re Roku junkies now, and are catching up on the last 18 years of missed series. We just discovered Breaking Bad and that’s keeping us pretty entertained.</p>
<p>I do find CC a good place to hang out. It’s comforting knowing there are many of us going through this experience, and that we each have our own ways of adjusting/adapting. </p>
<p>We now have an empty nest. We recently had some carolina wrens nest in some begonias on our deck. They lured the fledglings out with the same cry they used for ‘we’re coming with food’. Then everyone left the nest. </p>
<p>If we were birds we’d be leaving, too. I’m a bit envious of our feathered friends. It would be more entertaining and far less lonely if we were also flitting about.</p>
<p>DS calls me about every other day. He is about 45 minutes away so I can go visit…only gone once to clear up a banking problem with him. I’ll be sending his first care package Saturday-he wants a hdmi cable, 2 movies he left in the basement, some homemade cookies, a souveneer he got when he went to Italy in March, and a picture of his cat. I’ll throw in some silly toys and other things too. He sounds happy, has a job at the tutoring center (13 hrs a week), and I think, a girlfriend which he wont admit too:)</p>
<p>Wow, a girlfriend already! That was fast 
I would hate to be a Mom of a guy, they seem to be very secretive about everything, it would drive me crazy.</p>
<p>My neighbor was telling me about Roku. You plug it in connect and go. Trying to wrap my head around how they make money if there’s no subscription (like tivo).</p>
<p>EastGrad- If I could get a dog, I would have never had the kids. lol. DH worked long hours and I was lonely. Sadly though I am super allergic to all animals with hair or feathers (including the supposed “non allergetic ones”). And please don’t suggest a nice reptile to cuddle up with :)</p>
<p>DD called to last night in tears…she is overwhelming herself with being so busy…she’s not feeling like she is doing anything…I told her to sit down…take 20 minutes three times a day to just look at the trees…she wants everything “now”…she wants the best friend, the upper classes (she doesnt want to take intro-to-anything), and she is so burnt out on grades…"I thought you had to work hard in High school to get to college…why do they care about grades in college—It’s supposed to be about learning…"and, the school she’s going to is so non-competetive, and they don’t talk to each other about grades… — adjusting to college takes a lot of time,huh?!</p>
<p>Hang in there drmom, It’s hard to get these phone calls. My D complains sometimes, mostly about roommates, but I know after she dumps on me she regroups and carries on. Last phone call she complained why did she bust her ass in HS for this. Theres a lot of adjustments this first year.</p>
<p>High five, Carla! Fellow doggy allergy sufferer here!</p>
<p>Perhaps we could buy cute little piglets? A pet pig would probably call or text me more frequently than my twins are. Even when they are flying.</p>
<p>“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”
- Winston Churchill</p>
<p>Thanks for the snack suggestions - beef jerky is definitely something he would like! I will try some of the packaged things too, even as I hold my clean-eating nose to do it. He eats pretty healthy in general, so some snacks won’t be the worst thing.</p>
<p>Hugs to everyone getting “dumping” phone calls. Sometimes I wonder if it’s better to be the parent whose kid doesn’t communicate at all than to get those phone calls. </p>
<p>DS says everything is great. We are scheduled to Skype on Sunday and I am eager to hear his voice and have a real conversation instead of text snippets.</p>
<p>surf, I have sent things like boxes of raisins and individual cups of fruit. Also, little trail mix packages.</p>
<p>drmom, I like the sit down and breathe advice for your dd. Does she do any physical activity? Sounds like she needs something to keep her “out of her head,” kwim?</p>
<p>Ds e-mailed last night that he got an interview for one of the clubs. Good grief, why are clubs so competitive? It’s probably the kind ds has picked!</p>
<p>drmom - I fear getting the same call you received. My dd is the “Marcia Brady” of freshman college year (remember when she went to high school and signed up for every club!!!). Anyway - she also just informed that she got an interview for her schools ambassador program (I think just basicall tour guides). She is very excited because 350 freshman applied and she thinks only 50 got an interview. Not sure if she needs something else on her plate but this is one of her passions. </p>
<p>The one difference between my dd and drmom’s is that she had an advisor convice her that taking a few entry level classes (and not taking the AP credit) was a good idea first semester and she bought it! She has to have a very high GPA to get into her professional progam so she actually listened! I am thankful for that advisor because I tried to tell her the same thing and she didn’t buy it!</p>
<p>DrMom, has DD found a club with a common interest? The girls in Bonding Sess, REA, and Dumbledore’s Army have got to be supportive; the Dead Poet’s Society has to be filled with those who are sensitive. Hopefully she will soon find a nice group to be with, but without a lot of demands on her time.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas/support/etc. The answer is: yes, she does go to the gym with her roomate. She has been spotted on facebook (by various relatives) saying “it loooks like she’s having a good time…out with group of girls…etc.” I told her to go find a “club” that is different from stuff she did in HS just to “mix it up” and open new doors for herself. She said she’d think about it…(which sometimes means she’ll do it, but never admit I was the one with the idea…you know how that goes??). DD has an advisor…but, what I recently found out…(duh…) is “if you dont bring up the things you are interested in to your advisor…then, the adivisor cannot give you advice…!” so, she did have some things she was interested in, but spoke to the professors who gave information that made DD think she’d never be able to take the class…“ever”…and so DD did not bring it up to the advisor to even discuss…(and, it really didnt sound like the professor was even discouraging her…it was that the class was a language class that would be a full year and might conflict with one of the other courses DD was thinking about taking…I told her that if she meets with her advisor to discuss all the courses she was curious about…the advisor may have/would be for next sememster able to help her work out a schedule over the next year to make it happen…my DD said…“oh”…
I said “ugh!” this is all just growing pains, I know…I am glad to have this forum to “vent”…</p>
<p>surf, I just sent a Trader Joes care package since I know there isn’t one at son’s school. I sent some things he could have for breakfast since I know he just gets up and runs to his first class. Little pre-packs of trail mix, cliff bars, granola bars and cereal bars along with some asian noodle microwave meals wi peanut sauce.</p>
<p>I tried one of those Barista pasta penne meals from the regular grocery store myself to see if they would be good for another care package and it actually wasn’t bad so you might consider sending those.</p>
<p>You pay for subscriptions to the providers that you can get by using a Roku box. Some of the subscriptions are free for a few months when you buy the box. Family members can “share” the subscriptions. You can stream movies from Amazon if you have Prime etc.</p>
<p>Yes, mom’s of boys never know anything and we don’t get to pick apples. My son could be your daughter’s boyfriend, but I would never know it!</p>