Quick summary of Parents Weekend

TheDad
Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:20:34 +0000

Two days traveling, up at 5:45am and still nearly missed 8am flight the first day, about as close as I’ve ever cut it…somewhere, about 20 minutes disappeared and we were later than I meant to be. Flights to and from were among the least enjoyable I’ve had in a while (flying isn’t something I look forward to anyway, and these were smaller, full airplanes, even on the LA-DC leg), marked by lots of turbulence on the return.

The three days actually there included:

Catching D after orchestra rehearsal Thursday night.

While D was in class Friday, I stopped by College Hall to take care of a billing problem (Smith had refunded an amount they shouldn’t have) and then rean an intercept to meet one of D’s favorite profs at the end of a class…it turns out that she had told D she wanted to meet us. We then took a drive up to Mt. Tom as far as the road was open, spending time at a scenic turnout up the road, and then embarked upon a meandering drive back to Smith via Easthampton, where I stopped to check on real estate prices in the area.

Sitting in on D’s private musical instrument lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed her instructor.

Friday afternoon tea at D’s house; met some other parents, including a pair of Americans who live in France just across the border from Geneva and whose D attended a French school with an American layer added.

Taking three of D’s housemates with us to dinner at Osaka on Friday night. Three very bright and interesting young ladies, one of which I have to follow up on for research for a story. Went to Herrell’s for ice cream after.
One of the things that D misses most while attending Smith is the ability to take a bath in lieu of a shower…one of her classmates said enviously “You suck” when D said she was coming to our room for that purpose.

Saturday morning TheMom and D did some light shopping in NoHo while I first stayed in line for brunch at Sylvesters and then did some shopping of my own, including getting some gift certificates for D for Herrell’s. Near as I can tell, the major focus of D was the yarn shop for her crochet projects. (The Astronomy class moves so slowly for her that she often either crochets or reads for her Lit class…occupational hazard of being a senior Math major in an intro science class.)

We then did a quick foray down to the Springfield Armory, the only National Park Service facility in Western Massachusetts. Tour was interesting enough for me, less so for D & TheMom (though not boring) but it’s not on my “do it again” list, unlike, say, visiting Gettysburg.

Late Saturday afternoon church service at the Helen Hills Hills chapel…I wish they’d rename the Berkshires the Helen Hills and then we could have lots of fun. Dashed to a quick dinner at Viva Fresh Pasta, one of D’s favorites. I prefer Spoleto’s (next trip!) but frankly it was pretty darned good…the chicken gorgonzola dish was great…and it’s closer to something a student can afford on a splurge.

Followed by the Montage concert at JMG. Much better than the one D’s first year, though the groups were very uneven. I think hand bell choirs must be a New England thing. I thought the larger vocal groups and the orchestra in particular were pretty good.

Sunday Brunch at the Northampton Hotel followed by a walk in the woods with a former Smith admissions officer who has been doing college counseling for the past several years and was one of the two early external inputs that moved Smith higher up D’s list. TheMom and I then wandered around campus for an hour or so while D met with a classmate about a stats project they’re working on. We then drove over to Hadley (near Amherst) to spend a few hours with some relatives of mind. We had an early dinner at the India House and then we all watched much of the Red Sox game on TV, finally walking D from the Autumn Inn to her house on Green St. and then back again…TheMom and I caught the end of the game.

Monday morning was a quick swing by D’s house for a last goodbye before heading to the airport.

It was sad to leave her, sad to leave New England, but TheMom and I are absolutely convinced that she’s where she needs to be and that she’s hit a kind of cosmic jackpot by attending Smith. I’d say more about her classes but I’m not sure that I can file enough serial numbers off.