Just dropped son off today. It’s hard to believe that in four months he’ll be half way through college. He began working on his semester abroad application before leaving home. So, next fall i may be dropping him off at the airport rather than driving him the nearly 4 hours back to school.
My son is also much happier at his new school and is thriving and even though I went to a “directional” school which I don’t have a lot of respect for, I’m good with his choice.
@2014novamom , just read your post and am smiling ear to ear. What fun that moms weekend must be!
@3tallblonds - mom’s weekend is this coming weekend and it sounds like another good time. I really enjoy getting to know DS’s friends and their parents through little gatherings like this. It’s also very sweet how they really seem to appreciate us – they’ll cook dinner for us Saturday night, and last year they spontaneously broke out into chants of “moms, moms, moms” while dancing. Oh, and a grandmother or two is there also.
Dad’s weekend is two weeks after mom’s but DH says they don’t get a meal cooked for them, nor is there a party. They go to sporting events and eat out.
Got back from Mom’s weekend yesterday just in time to watch the Super Bowl! The weekend was just as fun as last year’s. Highlights included a touching thank you to all of us from the fraternity president at dinner on Saturday, a funny anecdote about each boy written by the mom (but read out by a different mom) with everyone trying to guess who was the subject of the story, and the house party afterwards with lots of dancing and a general good time.
At one point a girl texted my son to ask if there was anything going on at his fraternity that night, and he said “Sorry, we’re all partying with our moms and it’s going to go on for the rest of the night.” Another boy mentioned that he hadn’t danced this much since the last mom’s weekend!
Hello!!! Wow I haven’t been on the board for a VERY long time…glad to see so many familiar “faces”! I couldn’t possibly go back to where I left off but sounds like lots of good stuff happening to our Class of 2014. I came back on CC to start checking things out now for my DD…who is a sophomore. Just booked flights for her first college visit which will be to UT Austin in June (to coincide with ATX Festival). Here we go!! Anyone have any insight/experience on Austin?
Hi, @tpcrd66. I can’t answer your questions about Austin but wanted to let you know there is a class of 2018 parent thread and there are a few familiar places over there as well.
This thread has been pretty quiet (in fact it looks like I was the last one to post before today’s entry! I’m still on CC because of my 2018 DD so I check in here every once in a while.
Any of your guys coming home (or are already home) for spring break? DS is skiing for a few days this coming week and then coming home for the latter half of the week which happens to coincide with DS’s birthday so good timing. We actually had a little bonus visit from him last week because he was flown in for a summer internship interview. And that visit coincided with his birthday so double bonus!
Hope everyone is doing well, and the spring semester is going well for your kids.
It has been a challenging semester, to say the least, for my son. He returned early to school to be trained for a tutoring program. But, there was a mix up in what was needed for the HR department, so he lost his job before it started. That hurt big time, as he wanted to use the money for fraternity dues and other things. Then, he got a sinus infection. While en route to the doctor’s office, he totaled his car. Had some bumps and bruises, but was okay. Then, he texted me one night complaining of a sore throat. It was mono. Then, he got strep on top of the mono.
Just when he thought he was getting better, his girlfriend decided she was so stressed from things going on in her life, she could not handle having a boyfriend anymore. So they separated … although they are still friendly and he is hoping things turn around.He has been incredibly supportive to her.
Despite the craziness, he has done well academically. Interviewed for an internship the other day. Hoping to become a student ambassador for the school – he has an interview coming up.
Right now, he’s undecided about spring break, but is excited that I plan to fly down for his Honors Day in April. It will be good to hug him.
@momreads
So sorry about your son.
We had a very interesting and challenging past few months also with my daughter and our family as a whole. I was laid off just before Christmas after 19 years in a company and all it’s iterations (merge, acquisition, etc.). The company moved all development to India of the software product I was supporting. Over the years I held several positions but at it’s core, my job function remained albeit with supervisory role changes. I was emotionally down and went through the whole grieving process. The company gave me a very generous severance package that it equates to a whole year pay, combined with unemployment and bonus/vacation payout, But still, I was really down for the first few weeks after I as laid off. On top of that, my daughter also got into an accident and totaled her car and our other car was having mechanical problems.
But long story short. I started a new job about 3 weeks ago with comparable salary and we just bought a new car using my severance pay and the totaled car insurance pay out.
My daughter will be studying in University of Melbourne next semester. She just got her acceptance from that university last week.
@momreads and @2018dad, sorry about the difficulties you and your families had to work through.
DS had to fly home twice during the past month due to my father’s passing. He will be home once again for spring break. This is a difficult time for us and DS but he is holding up his grades.
Sorry to hear about all the tough circumstances above. Something must be in the air: my oldest son, high school class of 2011, totaled our car the weekend before Christmas on his way home with my mom, whom he went to pick up 3 hrs away. Thankfully both of them were completely fine, but the car is lost.
Hopefully these are their first and last accident.
@tpcrd66 - Austin is a wonderful city, with exception of the traffic, and UT Austin has much to offer. Several UT grads in my family and my S currently lives and works in Austin. I lived there many moons ago.
@momreads and @2018dad - sorry to hear of your difficulties. I’m glad you were able to turn things around so quickly!
D has had a challenging semester. She struggled with depression more this semester than last. I really think the cold, gray weather had something to do with it. Her doctor adjusted her meds, which seems to be helping. On a positive note, she was elected Social Chair/VP of her sorority. Her first task is planning Mom’s weekend in April.
D will be coming home for break next week. I’m so excited to see her and know she is looking forward to a little R&R.
Hate to read about difficulties everyone has had.
2018dad, glad to hear you got another position. Losing a job is the pits. One of my co-workers’ daughters is going through that, and it has been so hard on her family. She was with her company for 15 plus years, and one day, she came in and learned she was no longer needed. Got an okay package, but she needs to find something soon.
4beardolls, sorry about your dad. Hopefully, your son will enjoy his break when he comes home.
RenaissanceMom, glad your mom and son were okay.
Overtheedge, does your daughter go to school up north? My husband is from upstate New York, and he has a tough time with cold, gray days.
@2018dad – your situation sounds very much like one my DH faced a couple of years ago. He too got a buyout with a year’s severance but was a bit at sea after having been with the company for nearly his entire adult working life. At first he was happy being a stay at home dad but he got antsy after a few weeks. Complicating matters was a 1-year non-compete he had. Then a chance encounter with an old contact about 6 weeks into his “sabbatical” led a job that was sufficiently beyond the scope of his non-compete that he felt comfortable taking it. So what started off as a bit of a downer turned into a bonus since like you, he started a new job but also still had his severance.
Glad to hear that your daughter was not injured in the car accident!
My car was totalled in October when I was rear-ended by a kid who had just had his license for a few months. I was in the market for a new car in the spring anyway so I just ended up driving our old SUV as my day to day car for a few months while waiting for delivery of the new one. Luckily nobody was injured so it was more an inconvenience than anything.
I hope everyone’s spring semester takes an upturn swing soon!
Hello everyone! So sorry to hear about all of the illness, death and job loss. We’ve also had an interesting winter. Max had very few missions so he was home more than usual, which was great, but not so wonderful on the financial front. His dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and that has caused all kinds of grief and struggle in his very large family of origin.
The kids and I all had some kind of virus that lasted about 4 weeks. DD had to go on a heavy duty steroid because the virus caused her asthma to flared up and her oxygen saturation was dangerously low. She also had a tough academic semester but in the end managed to pull out decent grades. DS17 waited until the week before finals to tell us he was struggling in AP Calc so ended up with a C.
I’m so ready for spring!
Hello all! Sorry also to hear about everybody’s “downers” And glad to see a few “ups” coming into play. I don’t post much but I’m always around because I have a 2016 graduate and a few more onthe horizon . And I am actually graduating from my associate’s degree in Spring! Just got a certificate back in 1990 and got a great job, but I am tired of being an executive assistant and want more. Think I’m going to start my 4 year in accounting. I like human resources more but I’m not sure if I could get a job as easily as if I went into accounting. Couple that with my admin skills, and I think I’ll be set in 2 years! It’s fun going to college with my kids lol!
My husband and I went to Florida for a few days to take advantage of the nice weather and my spring break (I teach). We got a surprising text from our son. His plans fell through for a spring break beach trip, so he came home for a few days. It has been so good to see him since we got home! He bought another used car in Alabama, so he needed to get the title and registration changed over to our state. He also had an internship interview with a local bank – that was a last minute thing. He had not brought home his “interview clothing,” but fortunately, my husband had a dress shirt he could wear, and his older brother left some khakis here. He had ties in his closet, so he looked very nice when he left. After months of filling out applications for internships, he is finally getting some calls for interviews. It has been rather frustrating for him. Hopefully, he gets good news in a week or less so he can make summer plans.
@momreads, that is nice that your S is getting interviews and able to assemble his interview wardrobe at home!
DS is hoping to go back to last summer’s research lab but he is anxiously waiting for the job to post in order to apply.
4beardolls: He was not thrilled about the choices he had for interviewing clothes, but he made do. He said it went very well. Turns out that the former bookkeeper at our high school was working there. She has known him 10 years, so she put in a good word for him. He is hoping for good news next week.
@cakeisgreat I’ve been pretty consumed with the 2016 admissions dramas, but wanted to share that I’m really impressed with your trajectory. Sounds like you are all set, I love it when the wheels are in motion.
@momreads We’ve been going through the trials of job applications (or lack thereof!) but like @4beardolls, looks like my S14 has a chance to return to a lab he worked in briefly last summer. This time it should be substantial enough to meet his co-op requirement. And relevant to both his major and his minor.