<p>LOL @ Calmom, just imagining those overworked TSA folks in the screening area. SNAKES!!! RUN!!! </p>
<p>That was good.</p>
<p>I’ll send you my scorpions. That’ll take care of those dratted spiders! ;)</p>
<p>I have enough trouble with MOSQUITOES in a CAR.</p>
<p>Just returned from taking S2 to Notre Dame. It was the most unbelieveable experience. It was so efficient and warm. The sophmore boys of his dorm totally moved him without any assistance from us. They lofted his bed and showed him how to make the bed–I’m sure he’ll never do again. </p>
<p>The entire weekend was a joy. I really feel that he is in the best place. I had previously moved D1 into Brumby Hall at UGA–it was dreadful and about as warm and inviting as toll road truck stop. All colleges should work on making the move in experience more effecient and welcoming.</p>
<p>We moved our son there last Wednesday so he could begin Band Camp, and we returned on Friday to enjoy Orientation Weekend.</p>
<p>Your description of the experience matches ours; welcoming, comforting, and thorough. The University kept us involved but also prepared us to leave. It really was a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>My son called Monday morning to tell us that he made the Marching Band. We miss him, but we couldn’t be happier.</p>
<p>Son #2 is a high school Senior this year, and I’m hoping he decides Notre Dame is is best choice, too. I only wish they offered “multiple child” discounts. :)</p>
<p>Curmudgeon,</p>
<p>Congrats on all being done so very well! </p>
<p>Do you get a sense that the Bellingrath status will give privileges and responsibilities beyond the norm? </p>
<p>What do you hear now that a little time has gone by?</p>
<p>Fondly</p>
<p>Momofthree</p>
<p>swmmr984, that’s really nice of the sophomore boys to help the freshmen move in. I think it’s really fun for the older ones to assist - let’s them realize how much they know and how far they’ve come since they arrived.</p>
<p>At my son’s college they have a week-long Fresher’s Week, and as a second year student he’s going to be a ‘dad.’ His ‘wife’ is a languages student, and together they have two Fresher “children,” to whom they have written personal welcome letters. As ‘parents’ they will greet the children when they arrive, take them out to dinner, introduce them around, host ‘multi-family’ parties, mentor them through all of the many orientation activities, and show them all the ropes - meal cards, laundry, tour of the town, etc. Terrific system - he really enjoyed being a ‘kid’ last year and now he gets to return the favor.</p>
<p>Yulsie, the way some schools do this is amazing, isn’t it? I constantly marveled at the on-line schedule of events for Rhodes version. Campus security presentation, skits about sex signals, dining hall presentations - they kept these kid going till 10 every night and then had live bands, concerts, movies, comedy shows till 2 every morning in an obvious and calculated attempt to keep them so busy that couldn’t get lonely. It worked like gangbusters. </p>
<p>momofthree, things are going swimmingly. She’s getting on with roomie, found a girl or two that could become close friends, loves her classes, already has a paper due Wednesday (:eek:), stays tired , has her workout schedule down pretty well, weights, ellipitical and a very brisk (for her anyway ;)) mile.</p>
<p>They are revamping the Bellingrath Scholarship program to become the Bellingrath Fellowship program (it was always more of a fellow program. Now the name is catching up.) As a Belly ( or would that be Belly Fellow?). She has already been invited to attend functions and has been singled out as a Belly far more than she planned on. She planned on telling no one who needn’t know. Well, that was naive to say the least.</p>
<p>I was there at the Top Scholars buffet where a kid asked her "what scholarship did YOU get? " D was taken aback but managed to come up with - “an academic one” and turned to another guest. LOL </p>
<p>We are very happy with her choice. The school , the kids and now , and more concretely, the profs , all continue to impress. She is well and thoroughly indoctrinated.</p>
<p>we leave tomorow morn early!</p>
<p>She is going for a pre-orintation thing for 3 days and then on the 4th day is the school official checkin/move in day.</p>
<p>Of the 600 something freshman class onlt 150 of them will be there early, along w/ staff some faculty and mentors and the athletes who arrive early.</p>
<p>Ihope it won’t feel too empty in her hall w/o the rest of the students. </p>
<p>We had a few laptop crisises the last few days but all is good now. One last trip to store for batteries and headphones!</p>
<p>Tonight we are having our last family meal and then hopefully can get a good night’s sleep tonight! My first one to go!</p>
<p>Well good luck to all freshman and thier families!</p>
<p>Good luck to luliztee’s family and all our lategoers!!! It was not that bad. Like I posted above , these schools seem to really have a plan and they work the plan.</p>
<p>Dropped D off Thursday and got first phone call today. </p>
<p>So nice to hear from her. She has found a small group to hang with, which is good since her room is non-communicative so far. She starts classes tomorrow.</p>
<p>She goes to a visual arts college, and the transition from a creative and performing arts HS is not bad. Some of the kids from a more traditional rural or suburban HS are a little shell shocked…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Toto , we’re not in Kansas anymore.</p>
<p>Curm,</p>
<p>So glad the swimming is good. Very discrete of your DD not to show off her Belly!</p>
<p>But it appears that she was on the arm of a young man at a Fraternity Rush function Saturday night. I believe there was dancing. I hope no one stooped so low on the humor scale to mention that Belly dancing. <em>groan</em></p>
<p>(Wow. This could be more fun than I thought. 4 years of bad jokes.)</p>
<p>He he! :)</p>
<p>I imagine you are going to be sending her Jelly Bellies quite soon.</p>
<p>I have been told tonight that the kids spell it Belli , but that reminds me of Melvin Belli (long i). </p>
<p>I like my spelling much better so I will continue to use it. Pfffft. ;)</p>
<p>He’s in - and his youngest brother is off to his new school as well. Two down, one more to go next week for his new school! I’m exhausted so I’ll poach my own post from the W&L website: </p>
<p>He’s off to Roanoke until Friday, working with Total Action Against Poverty on a pre-orientation service trip. We haven’t heard from him yet, and don’t expect to. That’s what we were told.</p>
<p>I’ll start with the end. After saying his goodbyes to the entire family outside Lee Chapel, and suffering through some obligatory mother pics, we last saw him strolling across the lawn as the sun backlit the Colonnade. Headed toward his new life at W&L, he didn’t look back. And that made me so happy. I remember thinking I should be upset that he was leaving. But I wasn’t, because I know he’s right where he should be, where he wants to be.</p>
<p>And the reason he didn’t look back was that he was walking back to his dorm with a classmate he first met on Accepted Students Day in April, with whom he has talked nearly every day since then. Who, they discovered about two months ago, also has parents who graduated from Wake Forest. Who we knew “back then” - the father and my husband are frat brothers. Another typical W&L story.</p>
<p>As is our dorm settling story. With strategic info provided by my friend Motherdear, whose entire family we were were thrilled to finally meet, we were ready! </p>
<p>Ok - not ready for the shock of how small (I still don’t believe that it’s really 10x11), rather primitive conditions. The double bonus feature is the construction fence that consumes the entire view from his first floor window – and more importantly blocks all the air flow into the room and creates a thoroughfare a couple of feet from his head, whether he’s at his desk or in bed. No matter – there’s only construction six days a week beg. at 8 am! I told him to view it as a sign that he might as well sign up for those 9 am classes.</p>
<p>But what a difference a day makes. With mother magic, as my 10 year old called it, what was a “cell” became “really awesome, mom.” Some reconfiguring, a belief in the power of the vertical and velcro adhesives, and a quick trip to WalMart yielded a desk and wall system that the 16 year old now wants me to duplicate in his gargantuan bedroom at home. Navy madras plaid really has a way of pulling things together!</p>
<p>Ditto w/ loving W&L. </p>
<p>Despite her 2 daily athletic practices in the humidity and heat of the South and trying to sleep in a non-AC dorm, my D is having a wonderful time.</p>
<p>It’s been fun for me reading everyone’s going, going, gones.</p>
<p>Alas. We leave to Mass. (from So Cal) at dawn. We’re excited and a tad bit anxious as well. I have zero doubt this will be a stunning event for my D, and she’s delighted with her school (Mount Holyoke) and all it has to offer, socially and scholastically. The two are a really nice match.</p>
<p>Best to all who are on their way. Until we meet again.</p>
<p>Sigh</p>