I am definitely more of a jetbue fan than a southwest fan, I like the planes more but mainly because I hate that you can’t book your seat assignment in advance on SW - and I have seen instances of people refusing to move seats despite that a child has no seat next to a parent otherwise. So it’s either the early bird fee or hovering to check-in exactly 24 hours ahead (and at peak season that last is no guarantee of a decent slot). That said i do like the no change fees and bag policy. For flying direct from our closest airport, it’s often one or the other but not both on a particular route and that pretty much determines which one we use.
Not actually sure what we are doing on winter break this year - whether D19 will come home or whether we will all meet in NYC (where we often go on winter break due to having family there). No doubt tickets will all be stupid expensive by the time we figure it out! Thinking D19 may want to see if her best HS friends will also be home and we may not know that for a while yet.
Soccer is over, as they lost last night. She was sort of hoping for a miracle so they’d get to go to State. She had a few tears just because it’s over. Same coach and some of the same players since 2nd grade. She’s missing the banquet because we’ll be on vacation and the time wasn’t decided until last week. I’m just glad she survived with only minor injuries- it’s rough out there!
@momtogkc my girls enjoyed being with their friends, views of the city and the music, but they said there were so many wasted kids, many who seemed really young. They were both upset by that. Also, too much weed smoke for D21 who is not fond of the smell. How did it go for your D with the potential roommate?
Thanks all for tips on Thanksgiving flights. That was not even on my radar!
D19 had her last two dance showcases as part of her dance school last night and today. I have never seen her dance ballet that well in her entire life. For the first time in her dance career, she has found a way to incorporate her strengths into ballet, the way she uses hes strengths if jazz and hip-hop. She was, also for the first time in her life, the lead dancer in a ballet piece, and a fairly long one at that, and she was amazing. They repeated the ballet piece today, but nothing else. They also did a jazz dance last night and she, of course, amazing.
As one of the two senior, she was given flowers and a gift, and had some teary farewells after the show. She will still see them over the summer, since she will be taking adult classes at the same place, so that she can keep in shape, especially since she wants to take a dance minor.
It has been 48 hours since I signed on to CC, and it has been a whirlwind. Kiddo graduated on Friday night BUT THAT IS NOT MY BIG NEWS.
You may recall that kiddo got shut out of all of his reaches except for a couple of waitlists. He had settled for Gettysburg and was beginning to think he might be happy there. He started signing up for classes and was dismayed at the class offerings, found out that everything he wanted was only offered on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00, usual tribulations. We had waitlists out and kiddo made a late application to St. Andrews of Scotland, but that was a Hail Mary pass and we hadn’t heard back from them in 8 weeks so we had sort of given up on them as a lost hope.
Well.
Friday morning I’m working from home, my husband is home sick with a horrible cough/cold. Suddenly I hear a thumping rush up the stairs. “Mom! Mom!” Oh crap, I think, something is broken downstairs. But no. “I got in! I’m going to Scotland!”
Yes, we screamed and woke up Dad. The news rallied him considerably.
Graduation on Friday night I was a mess. I left the graduation tickets at home and we had to backtrack through rush hour traffic to get them, I left my phone in the car and couldn’t take pictures, my husband’s phone died. But that didn’t matter because we had Big News to share and we were able to share it in person,as we met those kids and teachers who have become friends, many of them met for the last time.
Yesterday we got down to logistics, and guess who has passports that will expire before fall? Eek. Pictures, renewal forms, starting to read through websites to see just how much paperwork we’ll need to slog through. The conversation about taking stuff on the plane is very timely for us, thank you. I don’t think they have a Bed, Bath and Beyond near there though.
I couldn’t sleep last night thinking through the possibilities and the logistics. My baby is going so far away. And he’s going to fly.
@ninakatarina Congratulations!! That’s amazing news! Your to-do list just exploded!
I just renewed passports for D19 & D20. It was no big deal. US passport form is available online. Kid has to go in-person, but we were able to do it at our local post office.
@3SailAway re: Gov Ball, D went 2 years ago with a friend. She was overwhelmed by the crowds, so they found a spot away from the crowds, thinking it would be better. Turned out that was the place where people were going to throw up. D has anxiety around NYC to begin with and specifically around vomiting, so she had a panic attack. She texted me when the first person threw up nearby, and then another and another. And that was the first day. They were staying with the friend’s family, so had a safe space to go afterward.
This time, she’s there with a different friend and they’re staying in a hotel. She’s a little wiser, and is on anxiety medication, so I think she’s doing fine. I’ve texted with her a couple of times. At the end of the day yesterday, she said Saturday was better than Friday, and Friday was fine. Don’t ask me why she wanted to go again this year after her last experience, but I’m proud of her for facing her fears and not letting them hold her back.
Well, we went out of state for my D19’s regional championship (5th place in our region!), and on the way home we were in a car accident while we were rushing back for my younger daughter’s ballet performance. My girls had to go to the hospital in the ambulance because D20 passed out and D19 had a panic attack. They both seem to be okay, if bruised and shaken up… but this was an expense we neither predicted nor are prepared for. Sigh.
@ninakatarina Congratulations! It is BIG news!
Passport renewals take 3-5 weeks but you can pay more $$ and have it the next day, in 2 days or in a week at the passport service centers.
UT Austin International (Student) Office handles passport application. It was very efficient and pleasant much better than past long lines at Post offices. I would find out if International Offices at State Universities handle passport application.
S17 will get his first 10-year passport. Previous ones were 5-year child passports. @RightCoaster 's S17 spent one year in London, so he may have relevant tips for packing and shipping stuff to UK.
Hope everyone recovers quickly.