<p>We got our first dog ever the year before DS11 left for college. She has brought a lot of comfort and joy into our home. I missed by first guy terribly when he left for school. He is home for 3 weeks right now and it is a treat. Next year will be very different. Both kids will be home visiting at this time. It will be a huge adjustment to have the nest completely emptied. As many people have said, “it’s a bittersweet process.”</p>
<p>My '11 is home for three weeks, too. I’m starting to like the “shorter” breaks of her school because I can’t imagine what she’d find to do at home for longer, aside from go stark raving mad. She’s seen the two friends from high school she still cares about. She’s hung out with family (she had surgery and spent quite a bit of time sleeping off the pain killers).</p>
<p>Happy New Years Eve!</p>
<p>Have a fun and safe New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.</p>
<p>Only a day to go before the submit button expires on many of the more competitive and selective CA schools. :eek: or 
- your choice. :D</p>
<p>DD was helping her BF with essay ideas for his one last minute ivy school app. I asked DD if she also wanted to throw one last app against the wall and she passed, even with a double legacy. She said she is about burned out and if she has to write anymore essays, it will be for the local scholarships. She is also very happy with her choices so far and already has one super reach in the March 31st RD lottery hopper.</p>
<p>Like a lot of other parents here, I am also shipping off the youngest of three next August. I think I will wait a while on a puppy though, lol. My favorite dog is in a long decline right now; I think he is willing himself to get through the holidays while everyone is home. We have one more dog home after him and a cat, so still plenty to occupy.</p>
<p>Pomona app was sent off by S2 this morning, thank God. Now to break the news to him that the Oxy app is due Jan 10 instead of Jan 15 like I had thought. Luckily most of the questions are short, 250 word max thingies. Yikes. He went off to a Calculus study group (first time for that, yes, I was impressed, since he struggles with that class) and is then going to a New Year’s sleepover party with his ex-football teammates at a friend’s family ranch. I like that group of friends immensely and am relieved that he’ll be staying put and off the roads - Texas roads are filled with drunks on NYE. </p>
<p>Ran out of propane this morning (all of the busyness with everything and wasn’t paying attention) which would have meant no New Year’s Eve dinner or showers! Luckily the propane company came out before they quit at noon, and they didn’t even charge the $100 tank recharging fee, since they had recently put a new valve on the tank (why didn’t the guy say “Hey, your tank is running low?”).</p>
<p>Out to hear music tonite with husband and S1 in a nice place with seats, and it will be a nice break from all of this!</p>
<p>our empty nest and dh’s year-long overseas tour will overlap a bit. i admit to dreading next year. we already have two dogs…not sure what i am going to do to pass the time…</p>
<p>son finished his apps last month, just waiting for responses now. one acceptance so far with nice merit, and one deferral (which, lets face it, is a rejection), and four more to hear from. it is really a very exciting time. :)</p>
<p>Happy New Years everyone! Just think what this next year brings for us and our kids! They’ll be picking their colleges, prom, graduation orientation - then off they go! Just think a year from now they’ll be home on break, their first semester under their belts.</p>
<p>When S goes away, I’ll also be a new empty nester. One key difference is that I’m divorced, so I’m starting to freak out a little about being completely alone. I did end a relationship Labor Day weekend and up until then, thought I had figured out how to fill that empty nest. Now it’s “back to the drawing board”. While in that relationship, I did adopt a two year old petit basset griffon vendeen who is a great companion who can make me laugh every day, but at the same time, it is kind of a hassle when nobody else will be here to let him out and feed him after work. It definitely prevents me from going anywhere right after work, which I’m kind of regretting now I’m not “tied down” anymore. </p>
<p>The pros still outweigh the cons, I think. </p>
<p>I’m also finishing grad school myself this year- in March. The syllabus was posted today and the final two assignments and final exam are all due on my birthday. I intend to finish them and submit them by the day before. Come March 10th, I’m going to be celebrating for sure.</p>
<p>I had two kids, remarried, and had two more. When the entire span is taken into account and assuming that my youngest heads off to college (she’s a HS sophomore now), I will have had at least one child at home for 35 years. I can’t say that it has always been cupcakes and puppy dogs, but on balance, it’s been good. </p>
<p>Strangely enough, I think the biggest shock will be soon, when for the first time nobody will be needing a ride from me to go to school, movies, game, etc.</p>
<p>CA problem on recommenders.</p>
<p>Anybody has the same problem on CA? My D submitted her app for school A and school B few days ago and assigned T1 and T2 as her recommenders for both schools. She logged in this morning to check the status of her apps. School B has no problem and it also shows that school B downloaded both LORs for T1 and T2.</p>
<p>School A on the other hand has this message:<br>
“There was an issue with Recommender Assignment for this college. Click here for more details.”</p>
<p>She checked school A and it still has T1 as the recommender but T2 is gone and can’t even assign her. No drop down. Nothing. She has 4 teachers that already submitted LORs and can’t see the rest of the teachers either, just the invite link.</p>
<p>The other apps that are not submitted are inconsitent too. Other schools we can see all the teachers on the drop down, but one school, we can only see 1 teacher.</p>
<p>I already created a ticket to CA’s support but just wondering if anybody has the same issue.</p>
<p>No more dogs/puppies here. I’ve had them since my youth, but no more. Our last one passed away 3 years ago. We still have 3 cats and I’ll admit to liking them quite a bit. One or another is always sitting with me it seems.</p>
<p>I’ve made it perfectly clear that even if I lose my eyesight in my older age I don’t want a seeing eye dog. They can make it a seeing eye cat if they want to - something that goes from my chair to the kibble dish ought to be just about right (assuming they also put my food next to the kibble dish).</p>
<p>We’re (hopefully) going to travel too much to have a dog and take care of it properly. Cats don’t seem to care so much and can take care of themselves quite well with limited oversight.</p>
<p>We get to fill our time with a new grandbaby! Our first! Due the beginning of the summer!</p>
<p>2018dad- Haven’t heard that CA issue before.</p>
<p>Creekland- The whole travel thing is part of why I have regrets about this dog. However, when he’s sitting here on my lap snuggling, I decide that I’ll figure something out. And, in all honesty, while I say I’d like to travel, I don’t have any clue where I’d go by myself anyway. Yes, there are friends I could go see, but I could actually probably take Charlie with me to see friends for a weekend. He’s a pretty good traveler. And pretty well behaved. <em>shrug</em> I can board him too, I guess, if I really end up traveling at all.</p>
<p>Take him with you, and write the sequel. </p>
<p>[Travels</a> with Charley: In Search of America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_Charley:_In_Search_of_America]Travels”>Travels with Charley - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>2016BarnardMom one of the things I regret the most is not having been more consistent with the training for my dog. I cannot take him any where ( picture Marly and me) but he is a wonderful and loving home dog, specially with the kids. The world for “well mannered” pets has changed drastically in the last few years. Restaurants, stores and many hotels are pet friendly so enjoy your companion without the fear of restriction. Most of us spend more time at home anyways. My vet has a wonderful boarding facility and when I cannot find a dog sitter I leave him there. I know he will be well be taken care of and that I will not have to worry for his health.</p>
<p>We have a dog and 3 cats. We got the dog when d was in K and sadly I’m not sure if she has that much time left. When she does die, I won’t get another dog. I love her and I know I’d love another dog but I want the freedom now. One of the cats is 15. So we could be going from a very busy bustling family to a really quiet one.</p>
<p>BarnardMom - you may be surprised at the opportunities that present themselves next year. It’s scary to think you’ll be alone, but consider it could be the beginning of something really fabulous! </p>
<p>Maryjay - how exciting! A baby! Not ready to even contemplate such a thing! :)</p>
<p>2018 DAD- WE had similar issues- my S ED app looked completed on CA so we stopped looking at CA …the college was slow (Dec 8) to send link to check the app and we assumed S was all set…well S check his status on Dec. 8 and a recommender was missing! No one knows what happen- called GC office and they contacted the teacher and sent the recommendation via email…less than a week before the ED decisions were announced…S was deferred to RD…</p>
<p>The missing recommender happened with 3 other schools ((RD) and we contacted the GC right way. There seems to be a glitch when the college downloads the recommenders.</p>
<p>We are going to be empty nesters …and I am already feeling the sadness…I started a job in Providence ( in Nov.) and my family lives in Maine. I am home on the weekends. I was home last week for Christmas and it hit me that it would be our last Christmas in our home in Maine and that S would no longer live with us …on the bright side now that I am only seeing my family on the weekends - we make a bigger effort to make plans as a family and they are visiting me - over the Thanksgiving break we went to see Phantom of the Opera and last night we saw Wicked…I have real mixed emotions …I just want this year to be over and to have our plans finalized -My son to be settled on college choice and for DH and I to make a permanent move to Providence/ Boston area…at the same time I want to hold on tight to S and never let him go…</p>
<p>onlyonemom - my son has been very tolerant of me suddenly getting misty eyed and clutching him with a sigh. Like the more traditional application process with scholarship essays and interviews, my son’s desire for an audition based program has a gazillion different specifications, scheduling and a continuous out-flow of money involved. I was feeling absolutely hostile about the whole process when I realized it was because I was working hard to help him leave, and I didn’t want him to go! Of course I do want him to have success, and most probably that will mean he will attend a school out of state, so once I allowed myself to feel the pre-empty nest grief, I was able to move forward again.</p>
<p>I was feeling pretty excited and hopeful last night, actually. I finish grad school in March. My last final and final assignments are all due on my birthday. I’ll make sure I finish them up the day before so I can really celebrate my birthday this year! It’s been 4 1/2 years in the making and I’m getting pretty excited that I’m almost done. </p>
<p>I started a master’s degree back in '91 but quit when I found out Barnardgirl was on the way in '93. Since '93, my primary goal was to raise two kids into independent young adults. In '09, I decided it was time to get that master’s degree, in a totally different field, but to accomplish that goal. So these two goals, both started about two decades ago, will be realized this year. </p>
<p>How cool is that? </p>
<p>When I was at the laundromat the other day, the washing machine started before I put any quarters in it. I went to the attendant and gave him 14 quarters to cover it and told him what had happened. Since then, I found out my car insurance went down $200, my meds will cost me $2000 less than I thought in January, and my ex just paid a bunch of back child support now that he’s working again. Best $3.50 I ever spent- it’s all about karma!</p>
<p>IxnayBob - I can relate to a similar situaiton. The youngest of the second pair will be leaving the nest for college in the fall so it will be empty nester time for us as her older brother (S-2011) will be a college senior next fall.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we have four grandkids that are local and we are counting down for #5 which is due in a week! We are now talking about downsizing the house in the next couple of years but staying in the local area. We will also start spending some of our winter time in warmer climates! :)</p>
<p>Happy New Year to everyone!</p>