That was my suggestion too! Didn’t go over this year, but maybe next year.
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Yes, this. My son picked up a bunch of shifts working at the restaurant where he has worked for the past few years. He stayed pretty busy throughout break, and replenished his bank account! He heads back tomorrow, though and is ready. His sister only stayed home a couple of weeks before heading off. Mom and Dad are great in small doses, but they both are happy to be back at school, and I am grateful they are happy!
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A snow day in Alabama too. My daughter was so happy. She loves winter and the weather was the big down point. She made a snowman today. And she laughed at everyone bundled up while she still had ripped jeans and a hoodie on. No coat, since it was 30 deg and not windy, so she didn’t think it was cold enough for a coat. I wouldn’t have worn one either!
She’s happy to be back with friends and has gone to some classes now. She didn’t like one professor the first day. I hope she warms up to him a bit at least. Otherwise, it seems okay so far. Short week though.
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Hope the folks around LA are staying safe.
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Sorority recruitment just ended. It was an incredibly stressful 10 days (they start and then take a 5 day break for classes). The whole process is not for the faint of heart. Being cut from a house feels personal even if everyone tells you it is not. Thankfully, all ended well and she is thrilled with end result but we are both grateful that is behind us.
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My D24 will start this next week, though it is “informal” rush (whatever that means?). She is under the impression that it is not a stressful, high-stakes experience at her school…really hoping that’s the reality.
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Best of luck to your D24! I hope it all turns out well and that it stays low stress throughout. I do think informal rush sounds like it could be more low key and a more pleasant experience.
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Welp, all this excitement over the activities of CO 2024 has now made my other child (CO 2027) want to graduate next year.
Has anyone had a child graduate a year early?
Look very closely at the high school’s graduation requirements to see whether this is even possible before entertaining the idea any further. Also consider what your kid’s level of rigor in core subjects will look like by the end of junior year and what sorts of colleges might be on the table with their grades and expected test scores.
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Talked to D24 today on Facetime. It was nice to see her face! 
She thinks the winter there is “freezing cold” and is “over it.” 
But she’s really enjoyed her Game of Thrones Mythology class, which ends on Friday of this week. They have a day off on Monday and then spring semester starts next Tuesday. She’s planning on going home w/Roommate for the 3-day weekend.
Broke the news to her that D26 & I won’t be able to come visit because D26’s employer at her part-time job rejected her time off request. And there’s really no other weekends to do it…where the planets would align with:
- D26 not having too much additional studying prior to final exams
- D26 not missing a bunch of extra school right near AP exams
- my work obligations
- not going to visit right before D24’s final exams
- having time to take D26 to visit Univ of Tulsa on a week day when students are on campus (3 hr drive from D24’s school)
So instead, D26 & I will go in October in the middle of the week during D26’s week-long fall break. both kids said the exact same thing, “Oh, that sucks, but that’s ok. We’ll just do it later this year.”
The tentative plan for end of this school year (mid-May) is DH will fly there, help D24 move out of the dorm & move her stuff into a storage facility for the summer, and then the 2 of them will fly home together. D24 said she & Roommate are planning on renting a storage unit together & splitting the cost.
Was talking with somebody the other day (somebody who doesn’t have kids, went to college but didn’t live in a dorm) & we were chatting about D24. Person i was talking with thought that college students were allowed to keep their stuff in the dorms all summer long. Wouldn’t that be nice. At D24’s school, that isn’t an option until junior or senior year when you’re in on-campus apartments.
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Depends when the lease starts……and assumes staying in the same place.
S21 has lived in the same on campus apartment for the past three years. each year it needs to be packed up, stuff moved to storage, moved back in the fall etc. It is quite annoying
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I’m glad neither was too disappointed by the canceled trip.
We do a storage unit as well. S22 had one the first summer and it was great to not have to have all the stuff in my house! Last summer he was able to keep everything in his apartment and we are hoping for the same this summer.
I have not yet figured out how to move D24 out. She and S22 finish the same day and S22 isn’t comfortable with a 14 hour drive on his own, so I usually fly down and drive home with him. Last year, he picked me up part way and I wasn’t even gone for a night! But it’s tricky this year and maybe I’ll move D24 out earlier and leave her for a week or two with just the basics.
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Well, we’re on our second snow day here in Georgia. I hope the city is able to clear the roads. I have news from D24 from her campus. She is “talking to someone.” For those of you who don’t know Gen Z slang, this means she is in the first stages of dating someone. It doesn’t mean they are just talking to each other! Why is this such a big deal? Because this is D24’s first “boyfriend,” as we oldies would describe the situation. She went to an arts high school where a good number of the boys were gay, so even though she was a prom princess and did not lack for friends, there were no dating opportunities. Most of you probably went through these emotions when your kids dated someone in high school, but this stuff is new to me. I’m both happy for her and worried, because she is sensitive and has lots of emotions. I know most of these relationships eventually end, so I’m hoping for a good experience overall.
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S24 at school and definitely feeling the cold. Fingers crossed that he keeps track of his hat/gloves in the coming weeks (the fall set was lost somewhere abroad).
Winter break was funny; it was musical chairs with his class schedule the entire time. Classes times changing, finding different ones to deal with time conflicts, getting off waitlists, dealing with time conflicts again and then trying to figure out when the computer system would actually reflect the final final schedule.
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Also getting complaints about cold from S24–fair enough, really, I am running house to car, and these kids are out walking.
As an aside, S24 sent me a copy of his grade report after I “casually” mentioned I missed actually seeing them. I feel a bit strange clinging to this element of K-12 parenting in particular, but it is a habit I am glad I do not have to break quite yet (although I did promise I would not ask to see his job performance reviews).
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D24 told me her grade rundown, but did not actually show me them. As it turns out, our auto insurance is up for renewal, and the policy offers a “good student” discount if I send along a copy of her transcript. It was a perfect opportunity to ask her to give me access to final grades in the SIS without seeming like I’m helicoptering.
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My D24 hasn’t had a boyfriend yet either. The dating pool at her high school was pretty small and most of the boys were not her type. She’s told us that she’s keeping her love life private until somebody reaches the status of official boyfriend.
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My older D (D20) had just gotten past the “talking to” stage with a boy her senior year of HS when COVID shut everything down, which pretty much ended that. She barely dated at all through college (to be fair, she attended an all women’s college) and said most of the men she met just weren’t her type. Just when I was starting to worry if she’d ever actually meet anyone (it is so much harder once they’re out of school), the HS boy popped back into her life last summer. They’ve been seriously dating since July 
Life is funny.
My D24 on the other hand…she’s been boy crazy since 11…at this point, I don’t even bother wondering too much about the flavor of the month until he’s around for a while. She’s had two serious relationships so far.
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My kids’ adjustment to winter weather is so interesting to me. We are from Florida, so don’t have real winters D24 is in Northampton, MA and she LOVES winter. The low today was -3, and they had a big snow on Sunday and much is still on the ground. She thinks it is great! She even goes for outdoor walks every day.
S24 is in Columbia, SC. Lows have been in the 30s this week and he called home to declare we was going to die and is absolutely freezing to death. (This may have something to do with his refusal to wear a coat.) They did get a light dusting of snow in Columbia last night, and that was a fun experience for him.
I straight up asked my kids to show me their grades. I have had a long standing practice of giving them semester bonuses based on grades because they are supposed to treat school like a “job.” It’s not a significant amount of money at all, but a nice reward they can use to treat themselves for a job well done. So, they have to show me grades if they want a bonus.
No word of any love life for S24. D24 has been in a relationship for almost 2 years and, honestly, it has been really good for her. I would love for S24 to similarly find someone who helps bring out the best in him. Then again, he could just as easily be attracted to someone who does not bring out the best in him. Who knows. But, they both seem happy.
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