@redandblack I’m also a freshman though I’ve only been here since Thursday. I’m kinda homesick but not too bad. I’m only 40 minutes from home and I text and call my mom multiple times a day. She’s dropping some stuff off tomorrow and then I’ll have lunch with her on Saturday. I’m pretty homesick for my dog and I’m sure your feelings are common. The 1st 2 weeks are the hardest
I’m starting to feel that gap from my D16’s departure from home. I can’t speak with her daily, like I did (even tho little was said…she’s not a big talker). I’m supposed to wait a week between phone calls. And, I see interesting events coming up…but I can’t (or shouldn’t) invite her, as she’s got enough on her hands and she needs to stick with her school crowd.
Ugh. It hurts.
I bet it does. There’s no way I could call my mom once a week, maybe eventually, but for now it’s multiple times a day. Even if I felt comfortable not calling, I still would because I know she worries and misses me tons.
DD has auditioned for, and been accepted into an a capella group. I’m thrilled about this. She did sing in the Show Choir Freshman year but stopped because of drama, and in the Jazz band, and did Marching Band. I know she’d miss performing. She has also started working out–first time ever. Her roommate was a 2 sport varsity athlete and has recruited her and a few other girls to join her. Roommate recently had shoulder surgery so they’re taking it easy.
@redandtheblack Although neither of my kids (S16 and D18) are the type to get homesick, I have friends with kids that have been homesick. It’s completely normal especially in the 1st few weeks. Hang in there! Try to get out and join some clubs and activities.
S16 didn’t tell us anything about his first day of classes, but he did let me know he found a Mr. Softee truck.
Spend first night home after college drop off. DD FaceTime us last night. She is planning to do it every night. Let’s see if it is going to happen 
The week she spent there for pre orientation and orientation she was going to bed around 3 am every night. So much to do and so much to see! They not buying any food, but it seems that all events they attend served some kind of food. She told me she completely doesn’t remember what she ate yesterday, but she thinks it was half of the hot dog 
Ah CC how I have missed you. Used extensively with Ds2014 and not much at all w D2016. First thing - THANK YOU @AsleepAtTheWheel for your last post. Will write the letter now! Dropped D2016 off at school almost 2 weeks ago. Wow, 2 weeks. And Ds2014 flew by themselves back to school. So all 3Ds 2 plane trips away and all seem to be doing well. Wow, maybe it’s time to stop worrying and pat ourselves on the back for once.
Well, it’s only been a few days since we left our sweet girl at GW and she is doing absolutely great! I’m pretty sure we overdid it but she said she feels like her room is her own little oasis. She loves the BBB mattress pad and warm blanket. She and one of the other young ladies share the “2” section of the room which has a door and is steps away from the on-suite bathroom. They also have their own heating/cooling controls in their room. Her bed is on risers (the ones from BBB with the USB port and plugs) so it allowed for so much more storage. I think we purchased enough toiletries that she will not run out of anything for a while (maybe the entire year). The entire suite has eight closets (one for coats, one for towels/toilet paper etc. and six for the students). The young ladies brought enough cleaning supplies/toilet paper/paper towels/napkins and bottled water to last for a very long time. One of the dads installed shelves in the utility closet and organized everything. Each young lady went grocery shopping at Whole Foods and labeled their foods…they also signed a roommate contract which I think is a great idea. There is a closet in the “2” but since she was able to get the desk in front of the window her roommate got the closet which she was super happy about. I was so surprised when she said she was able to unpack three duffel bags full of clothes…get them all in her closet and credenzas under her bed. There was enough space in back of her credenzas’ for her violin, ukulele, yoga mat, small suitcase for holiday travel and duffel bags. Her roommate brought the Keurig and she brought the mug and rack for the mugs. We purchased a beautiful rug from BBB which really goes well with everything. We plan to put most of her things in short term storage over the summer (unless she gets an internship and lives on campus over the summer). While we didn’t do the safe, the brand new furniture in each dorm room includes the ability to put a pad lock on the top drawer of the desk. While her computer won’t fit, it is a perfect safe place for pertinent documents.
The first evening in her dorm she said she’d met up with Elliott School and Honors program classmates and they headed to restaurant at Whole Foods for dinner. I love GW’s dining system because it allows the students to use their GWorld Card at 90+ restaurants in the area. She eats small meals (fruit/yogurt/breakfast bars) for breakfast and lunch so having the frig in the room is awesome. The J-Street restaurants at GW are being renovated and will be open soon but the students aren’t restricted to J-Street. The dining cash on her account can only be used for food but we also have an option of loading Colonial Cash on her GWorld Card for non-food items (like laundry and bookstore purchases). We did that the other day. I noticed that she did her laundry last night…I was really glad that she knew not to wait until the weekend.
She started classes yesterday and really really loved it! She’s super excited because she has to do a mini-internship this semester for one of her classes! Since her classes don’t start until 2:15p.m. on Monday and Wednesday’s she’s able to get a workout in and study a bit. The Elliott School is on the next street over behind her dorm so she didn’t have to walk very far. She only has two classes on Monday and Wednesday and one of Friday! Those are all on Foggy Bottom. She has five classes on Tuesday and Thursday, all on the Mount Vernon Campus. She said she loves The Vern but it’s way too quiet for her.
She had a good chuckle in her French class. When the professor asked how many students in the class have taken French…and she raised her hand to tell the professor she’d taken French for four years…the professor told her and a few other students they would most likely need to move to the next level 1002 class. Since she has 18 credits (with two-four credit honors classes) she’s decided to drop the 1001 French class and add 1002 French next semester.
She went to the gym yesterday and really enjoyed it! She will be auditioning for symphony orchestra and the acapella group soon. She is really enjoying her time thus far.
I’m really enjoying the fact that she’s chosen to text me with all the little tidbits of her day! She even called me last night….I had to stop myself from getting emotional listening to all of her excitement. She said that she may not be able to text/talk very long on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s but she will try to text every other day just to make sure we know she’s okay.
Someone recommended “The Dog Days of Arthur Cane” on this thread and I finally started it and love it - thank you!
I’m doing well. I wrote half of my first college paper. And tomorrow we have our first big tradition and I’m super excited
@arisamp, thanks for the tips on how to mail regional delivery. I ordered the two sets of boxes, so as soon as they come I’ll test it out :).
On a related note, does anyone have good non-food care package suggestions for guys? DS brought quite a bit of food with him, and he’s not into many snacks and popcorn…but I want to send him something so he can go check out his mailbox :).
Does he game or have a DS? You can buy a Nintendo gift card. Movie tickets? iTunes gift card?
Thanks, @carolinamom2boys I think his roommate brought a gaming system (DS left his at home, which is good because we use it for NetFlix streaming on our old TV) - so a gift card for some games would be a great idea. I’ll try to see if there’s a nearby movie theater, too, for a gift card.
@lifegarding I just sent my S a nice hair comb. I noticed when we moved him in that the one he had was missing several teeth. Last Christmas I ordered a nice shaving kit from Harry’s.
My mom brought me a t-shirt for tomorrow (one I thought I packed but I needed something yellow/gold) as well as my calendar. In the calendar, she stuck in post it notes that went with time. I was FaceTiming her when I saw them and I starting crying. So that’s an idea if you have send your kids calendera. Also we had a DIY stuff a stuffed animal free student life event which was great and we were all super into it. They ran out in less than hour and it was supposed to last all afternoon. They had enough people were just excited
I’m feeling a bit sad D16 is holding off on much communication with us until next Monday. Maybe I should just write my punchlist of items I need/want to address with her. Then save it for Monday. I should also set up Skype or something. And, I should probably start reading my September bookclub book. I’m probably very lucky to be back at my all-consuming job, as it keeps me occupied. Still. Feeling some ennui because what I’d prefer to be doing is talking with my D16. Dang. This is like waiting for a boy or employer to call, back in the day.
@dyiu13 I’ve been keeping a running list of things to ask so I don’t forget. It’s the only way to get info from my S. He just doesn’t like talking on the phone (or texting).
I finally figured out a way to get my DS to have a text conversation with me - asked him what he might like for his room, and of course he was happy to send a list of his favorite food requests for night time snacking. Turned out he also just found the 3 letters we left him on his desk last Thursday morning.
He seems to be in good spirits and happy about his classes (has been to all of them once), so hopefully he’s starting out on the right track. Maybe I can finally get in a good night’s sleep? It’s been hard adjusting to him being away from home…
We are officially empty nesters!