All of the awards nights are done, only exam left is civics which he doesn’t need to study for as he said he could get a 16% and still have an A. Graduation is Thursday evening. My parents arrive Wednesday. The other grandparents came to town for the JROTC banquet instead of graduation. Time is flying by! The kids are going on a cruise to Alaska with grandparents the week after graduation and then we take him to USMMA on July 3 for Indoc. and on to D23’s old boarding school where she is working for 3 weeks. S25 is spending all of his free time at the gym. I miss my babies, I have a feeling this is going to hit me hard in July.
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Grad party is in 2.5 hours… we’re currently having lightening and thunder which will make it hard to have a pool party…. Fingers crossed that this ends quickly.
In other news, I’m feeling very sandwich generation right now. We’re having the party at my mom’s house and as she gets older her anxiety just has ramped up to epic levels. This is just a small party - like 20 people - for family. She’s been in a panic about everything (minor things, like whether we have exactly the best bowls and platters for the snacks). She’s been up since 5 this morning “because she’s so worried”. Sigh. As her circle and her world are getting narrower everything is taking greater and greater importance.
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Oh, @OctoberKate , I so get that.
Also, if she feels like her memory is getting worse – even if she is highly functional-- the worry about “xyz” is compounded by the possibility of forgetting about “xyz”. So everything takes on an urgency. Just mentioning this because if that’s playing into things, it’s something you can help with by keeping a list or simply understanding. Ask me how I know… 
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Is this my mom?? are we secretly siblings??
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D25 has 1.5 weeks left of school. Her college roommate will pick the floor and room as she created the “group” I guess (but again, only has 1 dorm choice and floors 3, 4, 5, or 6 in an 7 or 8 story dorm). Her dorm was renovated in late 2021/early 2022 so hopefully wont be too bad. Her dorm only has north or south facing rooms and none look to have a good view. She is prepping for dance team auditions and I think she is genuinely okay with any outcome. There is a dance club and a dance minor so she has other options. Personally (I know its bad to say) but I don’t think she will make the team. She isn’t a top dancer but has held her own on teams that have done well at the state level (D1 pom champs this year) and nationally (2nd place at Worlds). Fact is though she is SHORT and many dance teams don’t want that. They want dancers all around similar heights.
Graduation is on Fathers Day. Auditions are the weekend after. Grad party is the week after that. I haven’t even thought of food yet. I made a photo book for end of dance so that is done. I think I will hang a clothesline and hang some of her dance costumes in our garage to cover junk. My husband is the cook and is very hands on with parties (almost OCD like) so Im not super stressed. I need to get the house power washed and new mulch put down.
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I ordered this photo banner from Amazon where you can add a photo for each year for K through 12. Maybe that would work for you? https://a.co/d/50al3UO
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D25 had graduation on Friday night. She’s our youngest and ended a ten year run of having kids at the high school. The ceremony started with a fly over by two F-18s! Not many high schools get to have that! It was such a great way to start the graduation.
Now she’s lifeguarding all summer until college move in at the end of August. We are also binge watching Andor. Then we’ll have to watch Rogue One again!
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Greetings from Japan! We have had the best time exploring Hokkaido and have been blessed with amazing weather, fun adventures, and very kind folks that we’ve met here. Additionally, it’s been a gift to have this time with S25. Watching him flex his skills after a year of studying Japanese on his own has been a treat. We leave Friday and I’m looking forward to our last few days of exploring a couple of national parks. Here’s a pic from one our stops in Daisetsuzan National Park.
Loved catching up on everyone’s updates!
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S25 and DH are at orientation. We live 5 hours away, so they left yesterday. It’s a full day today and a half day tomorrow. He’ll have his fall semester schedule by the end! He and his roommate selected their room the first week of May. They were lucky to get an early time slot. We just need to buy a few things for the dorm (and keep his roommate’s mother from going completely overboard!) and we’re ready to go.
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No pineapples. If you haven’t seen that thread yet, it’s worth a look!
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No pineapples, but there have been mood boards. And, I kid you not, she said she was going speak to a trim carpenter to get estimates on custom furniture pieces. 
They’re guys. Guys who do not care. If I’m not careful I’m going to hurt myself with all the eye rolling. 
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While I’m sorry that this is your life too, I’m also kinda glad/relieved that it’s not just me… Solidarity!
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Are they allowed to do that even? Most dorm regs I’ve seen don’t allow extra furniture or alterations to the existing furniture.
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Yes. They’re not allowed to alter the existing furniture, but I don’t think there’s any issue with bringing things in. It’s allowed at S23’s school. I think lots of kids bring sofas and carts for food and other items. I’m just not sure how much I want to spend on a custom cabinet to hold the refrigerator, microwave, and food. Or hutches for the desks.
Ok, at D19’s school they explicitly prohibited bringing in any other furniture and I’ve seen that at a number of others as well. However from various threads (pineapple and the one on over the top dorm decor) I gather some schools do allow extra furniture.
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FWIW if you do decide you want/need a desk hutch, IKEA sells something that you can clamp on to your desk that gives two relatively narrow shelves. It’s only 19" long, so not huge, but it’s also only like $20. (if anyone is interested, it’s called something like “vattenkar” or “vatenkkar” or some other strangely spelled word.) I’m not sure what I’d put in narrow buckety shelves like that, but maybe it’s useful for someone…
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My daughter has a neon pineapple stand up sign she might bring. It is a family joke based off the old TV show Psych (which we spent many hours watching together). But it is also about 5in x9 inches. 
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I sent one of these chairs with S23 the first year for extra seating as his room had no extra space. It didn’t come back and I think it ended up at the frat house when the year was over. Folded up in a corner when not in use. Easy peasy and CHEAP. (eta: and I saw kids sitting in it either on visits or in photos so I know it was used)
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Wow- 8 days off and lots of catching up to do! Sounds like everyone is busy moving along towards summer.
It’s been pretty busy at our house. My son had his final senior project presentation last week. His last assignment for high school! Woohoo!
He then went on a 3 day senior retreat and followed that up with a 3 day disney excursion with friends.
This week is a mix of senior events, graduation on Friday, prom at a neighboring school and a graduation party on Sunday. Something almost every day/night.
In addition, he is working on his Michigan orientation modules and will have a 7 hour marathon virtual orientation/registration day on Monday - beginning at 6am -because we are on the west coast. After Monday we are all going to exhale for a couple of weeks.
And then my son has a big surgery scheduled which will have him in recovery for a few weeks. After that we go to Europe for a couple of weeks and then head straight to Michigan to drop off.
It feels like we won’t have much time to breathe, but I think his recovery time will force us all to slow down and smell the roses, revel in the small moments that are passing by too quickly. I want to bottle these precious few weeks and remember this is as good as it gets. Laugh, cry, breathe, repeat.
Here’s to all of you and your kids. I hope you all have an opportunity to create wonderful memories this summer.
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Orientation was a success. He ate lunch in the dining hall and said the food was “solid.” High praise from him. He’s not picky but likes good food and is quick to give a bad review. He met some new friends and went out with them last night. He registered for classes this morning and is happy with his schedule. T/Th classes start at 11:00 and MWF classes start at noon. He’s not a morning person, so this is perfect for him.
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