@milgymfam So jealous your D is in Italy! Glad to hear you got a new car. After planning this trip I don’t think you can ever put the words California and cheap together! 
@coolweather Congratulations on the graduation!
@crknwk2000 Noo - tell the fog to go away - at least for the next week!
@elena13 Since S19 is still 17, he doesn’t really need ID when he flies (often by himself.) He used to show his school ID (showing his birth date) but they do not look at it. He does have passport and Global Entry card, so he also carries Global Entry card.
He does not want to drive so no driver’s ID yet. This summer he is going to get a state ID.
When I misplaced my ID, TSA let me pass the security with contents of my wallet, credit cards, and checks but no ID.
Got back from a Tennessee vacation Friday and then Saturday we went to college orientation! She drove so she would know how to get there. She now has a fall schedule and is happy with it. She got to include a class in both of her majors and all classes fall between 9 and 2. She also made a few new acquaintances and felt more reassurance in her choice. I learned about move in day, roommate mediation, tips for getting on-campus employment, and health care. (Doctor visits are free- is that typical?)
After the meetings we walked over to her dorm to see the furnished sample room. I suggested we walk upstairs just to see her actual hall and door- and found out it was unlocked so we went into her actual room! That was a little dose of reality just knowing we were standing in her “new home”. We also located all of the buildings her classes will be in and tried to get her a better idea of campus layout. In town found Walmart, church, and various restaurants. Bought swag for the whole family!
That’s awesome your D’s got a lot out of orientation. Being able to see her actual room is icing on the cake.
That’s great doctor visits are free. Are you talking about free once the school heath insurance is paid? My D16’s school health insurance is $1800/year, but I think there is a $25 co-pay per visit. I keep her under my insurance so she’s covered when she’s home on school breaks. I get her the insurance at school, so I don’t have to deal with the paperwork with our insurance to make sure she’s covered while St Louis. I get that my method isn’t the most economical, but it’s the most worry-free and hassle-free for me.
My son19 has had an exciting and rewarding weekend at the New Balance Nationals track meet. He did end up qualifying for a relay team, and brought the 2 kids that had never won a major event.
One of the boys has a learning disorder and has grown up in a very challenging environment, he has a brother with special needs and I think his parents are divorced and they struggle financially. But he is the happiest kid I see at track meets, he loves it, and he goes 100% all the time. He gave a speech at our recent banquet about all of the challenges he has faced in HS. as a kid who struggles academically and not having the resources like a lot of kids in our town have. He said he has felt like an outsider, felt dumb and unpopular, and that he has battled depression at times. He did say that his brother with special needs is his inspiration to never give up and try hard no matter what. He was always in the shadow of some of the other guys on his track team, and he has just never quite good enough to make it to the next level in track and field even though he tried the hardest he could. He told the younger kids at the banquet to learn by his example and never give up. Crowd cheered, coaches gave him hugs.
Anyways, the boys went down to North Carolina and my son was so happy he could go with this boy as I don’t think he’s traveled much. My son set up a gofundme and the boys raised enough money for him to get down there. There were some gernerous kids that donated and the boys were really happy they could go.
On the day of the race they were quite nervous as this was their last HS meet, the last time they will run together. In one previous meet the boy ended up dropping the baton and they didn’t qualify to move on to All States and it was a total disaster.He was devastated emotionally. So this weekend my son said he calmed everyone down and just try to enjoy the scene and have fun, and get it done!
Well they raced their best race I’ve ever seen, way better than expected and they ended up finishing in 2nd place! They lost to a team that set the all time meet record, and they were really close too. They probably could’ve won the the whole thing! Crazy. 2nd place out of 35 teams or so. Amazing.
Anyways, they took a team picture and the smile on the boy was priceless. They got some great medals and swag and walked away feeling like champions. Got some great pictures, names in the paper, social media praise etc. You could’t ask for a better ending!
It’s like an after school TV special ! Couldn’t write it much better. Really great way to end HS for them !
@RightCoaster you made my day. What a story! Congratulations to the boys!
@RightCoaster - Wonderful story!
@RightCoaster I love it!
@ChicagoSportsFn on the health form we just had to give a copy of our insurance card and check whether the campus doctor is in network (he is, she is only going 90 miles away).
Was at the in-laws today talking about college and MIL said she had a dorm fridge they took camping once. So we came home with a fridge. DD messaged her roommate and so the other girl will bring a microwave. Other than some form of vacuum, that should about do it for shared items.
@RightCoaster - wonderful story. Stuff to make feelgood movies about!
D19 seems to have got past the nerves > excitement stage and into the very excited about college phase! Next step is choosing the stuff for her dorm, and figuring out which of the buy here/collect there options will work best for her. Anyone who’s done this for DC… suggestions welcome! BBB is 5 minutes by car and Target 10 minutes from her dorm, so both options look easy.
On my just for tomorrow - seeing if I can find a doctor in network near school! A person in the bursars office at Bowdoin told me most families waive the insurance offered by the school but I don’t know what the school’s health center offers or which doctors/hospitals are nearby if needed. I think S19 will be covered anywhere if it’s an emergency at a hospital but I’d really like to make sure there an in-network doctor he could see nearby. There’s a CVS/Walgreens right near campus so any prescriptions would be covered.
Great story @RightCoaster . So glad they got to experience that.
@RightCoaster That’s wonderful news! Glad your son had such a great finish to his HS track career. Now, time to be a Jumbo!
Thanks everyone for the nice words!
I’m really happy for my son, but really more happy for the other kid especially. My son has experienced some success previously and has had a pretty good life and HS experience, whereas the other kid has had a rough stretch. I would imagine this was one of the highlights of his youth for sure, and certainly validated all of the hard work and sacrifice it took to get there. It was a chance for him to travel with some friends and experience new things. I don’t think they were even thinking of winning anything. My son past on his chance to compete in his personal events so he could help get this squad to Nationals. I was sort of skeptical of his plans, and I don’t think his HS coaches were fully on board either and they let my son know it. He just really wanted his friends to get there, especially this particular kid. I think they were happy and proud to say that they just qualified, but to win a medal was total icing on the cake.
In hindsight I probably should have not been so skeptical. I just didn’t think they would qualify, and even if they did I figured they’d have an average performance and finish middle of the pack or something…I wasn’t a doubter, I just wasn’t a believer. I found it odd that my son was not going to try make it on his own again. But I see now what his big picture plan was. And that he was right. The journey was much more important to the other kid. My son and another kid on their squad have won plenty of medals and had their moment in the spotlight. Another personal achievement at the HS level doesn’t really matter to them or affect them in any way. It meant everything to the other kid. I’m really happy for the other boy, and I hope this can spring board him forward to some greater success in life.
We will start compiling dorm mountain in the basement for son19 soon. Son17’s pile of stuff is sitting there now. I think move in date for kids doing pre-orientation is 8/26 so it’s coming up fast. We have a good handle on what to buy, just look thru son17’s pile and see what he has used or not.
We are fortunate that both kids are close by if they need us ro get them anything. We also use Amazon to deliver stuff to them which has been very helpful. We set up a family Amazon Prime thing, so they can use that at college to rider stuff and use it for entertainment purposes too.
Great story @RightCoaster. Congrats to your S! He sounds like a great kid!
Thanks for sharing such a great story @RightCoaster . It’s so nice to hear about parents and kids looking out for less fortunate kids and those who struggle. Your son sounds like a great kid and yes, I’m sure he got much more out of this experience than if he had competed successfully as an individual. Such a great life lesson!
S19 registered for classes this morning and it went well. There are three freshman registration groups and he’s in the second. Several kids from the first group had trouble last week and the computerized system was having difficulty keeping up with everything. Fortunately it seems like things were worked out and S was able to register on his phone in less than 15 minutes (from the bathroom 
). He had a few freshman writing seminars picked out but he wasn’t able to get into any of them so he’ll wait to take that during spring semester. Other than that, the classes sound interesting. I wasn’t really sure I wanted him starting with Calculus first semester but oh well, his choice. I think picking out dorm stuff will be more difficult with him than D17. I know he’s going to say he doesn’t need anything. Less than two months!
Hi again all! I’ve been a bit absent, in part because my preferred method of dealing with the graduation of my first-born has been denial, and hanging out online with other misty-eyed parents was at odds with that approach. Lol. Anyway, we had graduation Friday night. Nice ceremony, great weather, nice dinner afterwards. Then DS took off Sat on a camping trip on the Chesapeake Bay with the guys. Senior week seems to be a thing that’s done here, but they wanted to avoid the traditional shore house rental and booze fest. It’s actually kind of nice having a break - just me and DD. But the trip was originally supposed to be a week. That got cut to 5 days because one of the boys starts Penn State next week and needs time to get ready. Now it’s supposed to storm and they are heading back tomorrow. So much for my peace and quiet! Lol. I think he’s all registered, at least for his first year seminar. His father would appreciate if he would log on to the portal and find out when tuition is due - minor details, I guess. Hopefully, he will start a job search in earnest when he gets back. I love him more than life itself, but I can not have this kid hanging around the house all summer!
Re dorm mountains… I’m worried that I’m missing something.
D19 will have a fully equipped kitchen so it’s mainly bedroom stuff that will be needed. Bedding, lamp, clock, rug, decor, some desk organization stuff. This doesn’t sound like a mountain? I was kind of hoping it would be fine to uber from BBB to the dorm with it. Am i too optimistic??
Edit: this is what is in the kitchen - a refrigerator, an electric stovetop, a set of pots and pans, a microwave, a toaster oven, a Swiffer and a broom - i guess they will need a coffee machine too.
@SJ2727 My older son liked having a foam mattress topper and a cushion seat type thing for his bed so that could sit up on his bed.
We had a medical box, with most of the stuff you need, bandaids, Tylenol, cold medicine, throat spray, etc. Good to have he said. Saved him trips to the pharmacy.
You need surge protection power strips and electronics charging stuff.
Packed a sleeping bag, in case he had visitors or he went somewhere. Helpful.
Box of school supply type stuff.
Room decorations.
Clothes
Shoes …
The mountain grows.
@SJ2727 - Agree with everything @RightCoaster has listed - especially the mattress topper and backrest thing (we called this a “husband” when I was in college When my D16 got to school we found that she needed extra hangers, a small wastebasket (if not provided) and Command strips.