100% to this. And in the spirit of transparency and balancing my happy v. unhappy ratio, let me say that in spite of successfully making it through year 1 (wherein I define success as the following: learning to live away from home, learning to take–and pass–college courses, learning to solve problems without parental intervention, making some friends that she really likes and finding her tribe) there is plenty that could be better/different.
D24 has not miraculously morphed into a more ambitious and organized and overall more enjoyable to be around version of herself - she is still a procrastinator, still a disorganized mess (at least judging by the state of her room since she’s been home), still not too interested in spending time with us or initiating much conversation at the dinner table, still happy to spend loooooong bouts of time bedrotting.
Did I mention she has yet to fill out FAFSA for next year, in spite of me asking/reminding her multiple times? Or that she lost her dorm key in March (!) and never bothered to get it replaced, so I’m sure the $150 charge for not returning it on move-out will be showing up on her tuition statement this summer.
It takes a whole lot of deep breathing on my part and to not lose my mind over who/how she is.
Sending you as you watch your C24 make it through this last week.
You never can have enough Buc-ee’s merch in the house! They’re still building the location in Harrisonburg, so hopefully when I come back to VA next fall, I can make a few trips up there.
My friends are probably getting tired of me saying how much I miss Beaver Nuggets…
Top 10 things that my kid brought home with her that make us wonder about this kid:
2 winter scarves. It’s 87 degrees here today.
2 winter sweaters. Um, what?
all of her class notebooks from this school year
6 month supply of hair conditioner. Why? “Because it could go bad in the storage unit.” Um…it’s not like it’s milk that’s going to go sour over the next 3 months.
Every pair of jeans she owns. But no job interview outfit.
all of the books she had to read for her sci fi english class from the fall semester.
3 sweatshirts. Again…it’s summer, right?
enough tooth flossers to last an entire calendar year
5 travel-sized hand sanitizer containers
a bunch of knicknacks. Is she planning on keeping those at home? No. They’re all going to go back with her to school in August.
D24 got herself enrolled for the CNA (certified nursing assistant) class she’s taking. It starts in about 3 weeks. So she’s coasting and not doing anything for the next 3 weeks. Ok, I lied…next week she’ll be picking her sister up from school each day.
Then the plan is after passing her CNA test, she’ll get a full time CNA job that she’ll work at the rest of the summer.
My spouse loves a frou frou drink. This cracked me up reminding me of my sister-in-law who got a really nice car after the minivan days and lectured the kids on keeping clean. My brother-in-law spilled a large red Hi-C week two and she was so upset and giving him grief over being a grown man ordering fruit punch.
It’s late in the UK, but didn’t mind getting A in Orgo text! He performed very well in this class, very high exam grades for last two. He attributes it to pre-reading orgo as a second language book and having good visual spatial skills. I know he got the cheap model kit, but not sure how much he used. He’s planning to pre-read the second book this summer for Orgo 2. Wanted to recommend books as I know many are taking class soon.
Both S24 and D24 and it is great in some ways, and challenging in others. They are at a phase in their relationship where they butt heads. A lot. D24 seems to have matured a great deal in the past year, and has been very thoughtful, considerate, and helpful. S24 seems to be in some college withdrawal and finds parents irritating or somethings. There have been times he has been great, but I am not seems quite as much maturity as I had hoped from him.
Overall, though, they both had very good freshman years. They did well academically and made friends. Both are very happy with their schools. S24 definitely enjoyed the party scene more than I would like, so I’m glad summer will be a bit of a respite. D24 is not a partier, but is beginning to enjoy wine, and it is nice to share a glass with her from time to time.
D24 heads to DC next week to start her summer internships. Apparently lots of internships are part time, but she ended up getting two that, together, add up to a full time job. Both will use different skill sets, so I am really excited for her that this is working out.
S24 starts his local internship next week. Already he is complaining that he thinks it will be boring and he is going to do boring things for the rest of his life. Hopefully he will find that is not actually the case and have an attitude adjustment.
Our S24 also discovered wine could actually taste good this year. Now wants to do some wine tastings and such with us. NiceUnparticularMom is super excited, and I am not not excited.
We recently went to Willamette Valley and did a mini wine tasting for the Mother’s Day dinner we hosted for my mom. It was really fun! Our D24 tried a half glass of two different whites. She didn’t try the Pinots that night, but it was fun for my parents and us, and I enjoyed having her participate. S24 refused to try the wines, but I think he needs to dry out for a bit anyway . . .
I think that there can definitely be an adjustment and probably a little bit of culture shock for students when they come home for the summer after their freshman year away at college.
I know I had one for sure the summer after my freshman year. My parents enacted a curfew on me, when I’d never had a curfew even in high school. I was required to be home by 11:00 pm. I was super mad about it and vowed to remain at college every summer after that. Never spent another summer home at my parents’ house ever again after that 1st summer.
It sort of can feel sometimes like you’re doing the mating dance of a rare species of bird with your adult kid.
Agree, think it’s hard transitioning from complete freedom back to home.
Sadly he just heard his hospice patient passed yesterday. So glad he got to see him on Tuesday before he left. Don’t think he thought it was this imminent at that time. He was a music lover and brought him CD’s he could listen to, both Billy Joel fans with some others in common. It’s been a rewarding experience.
Holy cow, I forgot how much my D24 can eat. She is an avid gym rat and has been inhaling every bit of protein in the house. I just stocked the house with her faves on Tuesday evening (eggs, tuna, cottage cheese, turkey sausage, greek yogurt, tons of fresh fruit) and as of this morning, we’re just about out of it all. I honestly think having her home is going to increase our monthly grocery bill by at least 50%.
Planning on same here! He’s complained about not getting enough protein all year, school did a big environmental push with adding mushrooms into beef patties and upset all the athletes and gym rats. Wants to switch to half meal plan next year and meal prep now that new dorm has 3 nice kitchens per floor. I’m sure it should be cheaper, but the way he shops I’m not so sure.
Grades for spring semester are due next Tuesday so probably next Wed will know what D24’s grades are for this past semester. She & roommate were in the same french class this past semester. D24 said, “She’d probably be getting a better grade in the class if she actually went to class and didn’t skip class so much. She sleeps through class a lot of the time.”
The French class started at 12:30 pm every day.
And then D24 said this: “You know, professors know that you actually care if you, ya know, actually show up to class. And it’s a lot easier to do better in the class if you, ya know, are actually GOING to class. Like, I never skip class unless I’m really really sick. It’s just dumb to not go to class. It’s not like our dorm room is all that far from anything anyway. Like, you can go to class in your pajamas and nobody’s going to care.”
Just picked up D24 from school. I’m getting too old to move my kids in and out of the dorms! Flew out at 6:50am and took the 2:50pm flight back with her. Move out went smoothly. Hard to believe a whole semester is done. It went by so quickly. Overall, she enjoyed her time joining different clubs, including consulting clubs, dance teams, and fellowship groups. She’s made some close friends which is nice. Only negative was her last Calculus final. Sounds like everyone “flunked” it and the professor says she is going to curve it at a B- for everyone. That’s nuts for a required course for non math or non STEM majors! She got crushed on her rate my professor score. It dropped to a 1.7? But the next day half the posts were gone and it went up to a 2.7. Something fishy!
Regardless, nice for her to be back home. Short stay before she goes off to her summer internship/school abroad.
- she is still a procrastinator, still a disorganized mess (at least judging by the state of her room since she’s been home), still not too interested in spending time with us or initiating much conversation at the dinner table, still happy to spend loooooong bouts of time bedrotting.
to not lose my mind over who/how she is.
as you watch your C24 make it through this last week.
