Back from D24’s move-in. The lobby of her building has a piano that was already in frequent use while we were assisting with the move and unpacking, so given her great appreciation for live music, it seems she has landed in just the right house.
Yesterday was her birthday - our gift was laundry service given there appears to be only one functioning washing machine for the ~65 students on her floor.
Hoping it’s a great semester ahead for all of our students!
Well we are almost the last to leave! Will be driving S24 to school tomorrow and classes start on Thursday. Got all the classes he wanted including an extra one, amazed it worked out!
Number one time D24 is likely to call: when she’s supposed to be studying for a test! 
However, I’m grateful to hear her voice, and I don’t give a darn about the test. The last time I saw her was just over 24 hours ago. We were in her college town for 2 days, because she had a very serious internal bleeding episode that required a transfusion. She doesn’t have any preexisting condition. The endoscopy showed nothing (which is great). My guess is that she tended toward iron-deficiency anemia to begin with, and then the antibiotic she was on for acne caused her to acquire some all-around gastric inflammation. The doctors are going to do followups, but there is no fear that she has colon cancer or anything. I’m hoping for a smooth and uneventful semester now.
Hope your daughter is feeling better! That sounds pretty scary. Glad you were able to go visit her and be with her during all of that!
D24 called today with random things to report:
We also had a nice, very long, call with S24 today. Mostly we were talking him through how to assemble all the stuff we had ordered for his room—might as well have live help on the phone if you can get it!
Toward the end, though, he somewhat nervously broke the news that he was considering a bid from a fraternity. He had somehow gotten the impression we might disapprove, which is quite wrong. We talked it through and he is doing it for all good reasons, and I think there is a very good chance it will add a lot to his college experience.
Busy kid, though! Still doing premed and two club sports as well, and still dating the woman he started dating end of first year.
I think this is really just him, though. Idleness is not something he much enjoys (we’ll see how he feels in 30+ years), and he felt like he had the capacity to add something more.
I agree, that sounds like something I would find terrifying (as patient or parent), at least until the better news started coming out.
Best wishes!
Some more good news. On Friday evening, D24 went to the college’s 1st home football game of the season. AND went with a friend. AND hung out w/the friend after the game.
I am SO GLAD that she’s not hiding in her room all the time this year.
My D24 moved back last month - she spent the summer as a camp counselor in an offgrid summer camp and grew so much. The week before move in, there was a post on socials for an opening in a theme house centered on outdoors education, and she ended up applying and getting accepted, and it feels very much like one of those “what’s one small thing that changed the trajectory of your life” moments. She had been registered for a single, but thought she might find it TOO isolating, and is now in a triple but in a residential house, so a totally different vibe. They do outings on the weekend and start the day with a house walk, which she has been doing every day. She independently connected with her student success advisor the first week of class and set up a standing weekly appointment to stay on track for the semester (the SSA really came in CLUTCH during the last two weeks of spring semester when she was spiraling) and has been staying on top of that. Signed up for her radio show, and has let us know that she is not coming home for fall break as the house plans on going camping. She is also going to try ultimate frisbee, since several of her housemates do that. The difference between even last spring and this fall is huge, and I am so proud of her for taking on all these new challenges in a spirit of growth and learning.
I like to post in case anyone else with an “awesomely average kid” with a heavy sprinkle of neurodivergence has stumbled upon past posts and ever wonders how it’s working out once they are admitted. (I was a member of the 3.0-3.4 thread during her admission year, and really clung to the stories of kids who made it through.) Her growth is in her own self awareness - even through middle/high school we always felt when she was doing a sport/ getting regular physical activity everything else seemed better, and she came to that conclusion through camp, I think. When she was anxious about the house interview, instead of retreating to her room to doomscroll, she got out her bike and went on a long ride until she had to come home and sign on to the zoom. The house really fosters the sense of getting out and DOING stuff, which is huge for her (she even said that she felt like most students at her school are like her - they want to be involved but are introverted or anxious and don’t know how to jump in if they aren’t asked to join, this house seems to eliminate that anxiety for her.)
I hope everyone else from ‘24 is finding the second year to be a smoother start, even if it means - as it sounds like for several of us - a second wave of separating and the impact that has on us at home!
This is such a great update! I would have loved to be in an outdoor rec theme house when I was in school.
D24 is in week 3 of the semester. So far, so good! She is busy, busy, busy between challenging courses, sorority obligations and an active social life. Was happy to hear that she went to office hours and connected with one of her professors…that’s generally not been her style. She’s been doing a lot of meal prep/cooking and said it’s going well. Even sticking to her food budget/allowance, which is a pleasant surprise. Likes her housemates and is enjoying her off-campus digs. Baby girl is growing up!
Just random thoughts on the evolution of the college experience, but one thing that really stood out to me when we talked to our S24 recently is we were discussing tryouts for one of his club teams. Obviously, this year he part of conducting the tryouts and evaluating candidates, and he expressed more than once how much less stressful it is to be on that side of things!
Obviously kids are often finding new ways to challenge themselves as well, but I think this underscores why the first year is so stressful–EVERYTHING is new, everything seems like some form of “tryout”, and so on.
D24 called for a brief conversation this morning. She was killing time while waiting for the communal bathroom on her floor to be finished cleaning by the cleaning crew.
She said that the communal bathroom on her floor is MUCH cleaner than last year and said, “that’s because my floor doesn’t have any freshmen on it and we all got sick and tired last year of the freshmen girls who kept leaving balls of hair & fake eyelashes on the shower walls.” 
We have twins, so not exactly the same thing, who are both at Umich. Class of ‘28. Of course it’s large enough that it’s somewhat akin saying they’re both in midtown Manhattan. They basically never run into one another unless they plan it, but in fact have been going to the gym together weekly, much to our surprise and delight.
They did not choose to attend the same school intentionally. They always claimed neutrality in that regard. Their school lists had overlaps of both acceptances and not, and in the end they were choosing from some where they were both accepted, others not. Over time they’d each decided that big/fun/challenging was the goal and UMich obviously fits the bill. Being twins, sharing likes/dislikes isn’t all that surprising even though their academic interests are quite different. That said, if it’d been a school the size of, I don’t know, Rose Hulman, I could see how they might have noped out of that.
Now wait just a gosh darned second there partner! I’m pretty sure that eons ago I’d shared my recipe here for The Clouseau, which is equal parts vodka, grapefruit juice, St Germain, and Lillet Blanc!
Here’s another: parents’ weekend. I wonder when this started? I’m sure this has been discussed on here at some point. But, wow.
So my version is not equal parts, and has the bitters.
But yes, I actually did start looking at other cocktails like that after trying yours, and in fact still make yours too.
Got proof of life today from The Child. She facetime’d, asked to see the cats. Said she’s really enjoying her psychology class this semester. Hasn’t been to any parties this semester…I think she might have grown out of the college party scene. She said that the kitchen in the basement now has an air fryer, so she was pretty happy because now she can use the air fryer to make taquitos.
D26 & I will be out there to visit in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to seeing my baby! Gonna take her to the local Mexican grocery store in town so I can get her some good salsa and guacamole. 
Thank you to the group for the thoughts on siblings at the same college–this is very helpful. Looks like if our ED1 round is successful, we’ll have that situation (as of today’s decision by D26…who knows what her ED1 will be tomorrow? She is back and forth on two good possibilities).
Without saying too much, I wanted to relate how our entry into Sophomore year has been. In a word: terrifying. Both of our S24s are flights away at different schools. Both are very responsible, very driven kids who never got into trouble in high school. Maybe that led to my false sense of security. One had a serious accident at school at the beginning of the year, at night, with peers drinking. Yep. Everything the kids should not do is what they did, including not calling 911 right away because they were worried they would get in trouble. A tale as old as time and why don’t they learn??? Just typing this makes me feel sick. Finally, they did get help. We flew out there immediately, but I have never regretted letting him go so far away as much as I did on that flight. The school was incredibly supportive, we have an excellent plan in place, and he’ll make a full recovery–he got very, very lucky. Let’s just say so many lessons learned on his part. I have aged a million, billion years. So much stress. I know it isn’t fair but I want D26 close to home–like 10 min away if possible. (I have not said this of course, my panic should not influence her time to spread her wings). I need a padded room. Parenting–it’s not for the faint of heart.
Our other S24 is thriving. We had to miss parents weekend because of the above. But we will visit soon and I’m looking forward to a very positive visit.
Deep breath!!!
I am so glad your son is going to make a full recovery. How awful and frightening for you all! My S24 did a dumb thing while drinking first semester freshman year that landed him in the ER. Thankfully, he only needed stitches. Hopefully he learned. Hugs to you and your family as you navigate this chapter with a whole new host of worries.
Today is Mountain Day at Smith College and I am reflecting on how much better my D24 is doing now than when she was a brand new Firstie. Don’t get me wrong, she loved Smith from the start and had a wonderful first year experience, but at this point a year ago, she was still trying to find her place, navigate new friendships, get a solid understanding of the academics and all the other new things, like finding a favorite coffee shop, navigating dining halls, etc. Last year on Mountain Day she did an activity with her house and then read a book by Paradise Pond. She had a nice day, but it was not everything she dreamed of. Today, she did a little hike/walk with friends and is on her way to an orchard with a big group and plans to bake with friends in the afternoon. In her second year, she has several different friend groups, is involved in numerous organizations,is building strong relationships with professors, and just really thriving. I feel like Sophomore year can be really magical. College is still new and exciting, but the students are more settled and confident.
My S24 is having a similarly strong start to Sophomore year. He is more engaged academically and enjoying his classes more, and definitely has stronger friendships. He is doing a better job taking care of himself and knowing when to have a fun night out and when he needs to stay in. All in all, he is finding more balance and growing up in ways that make me proud. He is also loving cooking in his apartment!
I’m not trying to make it sound like it’s all roses. They both call their mama with their complaints and frustrations and there are many times when I bite my tongue as I try to just listen instead of giving the unsolicited advice I’m dying to give, but overall this year feels better than freshman year. More settled. More mature. Less anxious. Less wild. Hopefully this trend will continue. And I look forward to seeing them both for their Fall Break next week.
+1 on this!
Glad your kiddo is going to be ok! Parts of parenting is really really hard! They don’t tell you in a manual or handbook ahead of time about times like this! Hang in there.