<p>Hugs to geezermom! Last year when I dropped D1 at her college (only 3 hours away), I bawled my eyes out. I don’t know how I’m going to handle leaving my baby (D2) all the way in Michigan (3 hours by plane). The stomach has started churning.</p>
<p>As far as packing goes, D1 has loaded my dining room table with dirty clothes she wants washed and has a pile of stuff in the middle of my garage. She leaves on 8/17.
D2 is flying to school. We went to BB&B and scanned our hearts out. She doesn’t want to think about packing clothes yet for our 8/26 departure. </p>
<p>My best advice from our experience last year with D1 was to pack “flu/cold supplies”. Make sure they have Tylenol/Advil, their favorite cold medicine, Vicks, something for an upset tummy, chicken noodle or vegetarian Raman noodle soups, box of crackers and Gatorade. Don’t forget the thermometer! Unfortunately, they will get sick at school and will not feel like either going out for these things or want to bother someone else for them. A cozy blanket they can wrap themselves up in is also a must.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought about the food-related “medical” things, so thanks! I will add some soup and crackers. S hardly ever gets colds, but I am sure that is about to change as he moves to a dorm. We swear by Emergen-C, so I will pack plenty of that, too. Sounds like my first-aid bag is going to become a little box ;)</p>
<p>D1 has developed allergies since going away to school. Haven’t figured it out yet as she is only congested, sneezing and runny nose in the mornings. She washes all of her bedding regularly so I’m thinking it must be something in the dorms. Having allergy/cold meds on hand rather than running out is a god send for her.</p>
<p>Dorm air can be terribly dry – I had the same problem. I used to leave a bowl of water near the heating vent to add a little moisture. (Had no $$ for a humidifier!)</p>
<p>Love all these ideas-- stamped envelopes, cold/flu supplies, sticky backed velcro…thanks to all.
I haven’t cried yet but I know I have been close and I’m sure it will come out in some inappropriate moment that will embarrass my S!</p>
<p>OK-- S is finally packed and ready. Can’t believe the amount of sentimental things he has in his pile – odds and ends that I’d never have guessed he wants to bring. we’ll see how much the dorm room can fit when we get there and may be hauling a load of stuff home again.</p>
<p>He is apprehensive, I can tell, but trying not to show it.</p>
<p>Ah Acme, its hard to believe the time has finally come. Good luck on the move-in, and be sure to pack a few extra tissues for yourself! It’s all good…</p>
<p>I just did the online advance check-in for our flight tomorrow morning…nothing is packed!!! I have not been able to get her to do anything other than pile a few things on the dining room table. </p>
<p>I have lists though…so once I get her out of bed today, no more sleep until it’s done. All I can say that if it were not for this BBB pack & hold, I would be a nervous wreck.</p>
<p>2forcollege: Just got back from move-in…one recommendation re: BBB…Go to the dorm room first and try to assess whether the stuff you put on pack and hold is what is still needed…we ended up completely ditching 75% of the stuff we had put on pack and hold and bought completely different stuff when we got there…it worked out great!!! but it would have been a real pain if we would have picked up the “pack and hold” b4 we saw the room…</p>
<p>also, best item from BBB: the large, wide stacking drawers that are purchased separately from each other…they’re huge, can be stacked as a dresser, can be separated and put under the bed or anywhere else in the room…life saver in our case…</p>
<p>Day 5 and my D lost her communal bathroom key. She’s told it’s “fairly expensive” to replace, as the lock and all the girls keys must be replaced…She had taken it off her home key ring so as to avoid losing the home keys…</p>
<p>hi all, good luck 2forcollege…and I agree that the BBB pack and hold may need adjustment…we went thru the local BBB by W & L and found a few items that made more sense upon second look, eg. bulky drawer organizer too big, and the comforter set was on sale, (but didn’t come up that way on the register so good we strolled around) also found several items better at Walmart, eg desk lamp. </p>
<p>we also made couple addl trips to Walmart for those, extension cords, desk organizer things you realize once setting up the dorm. kind of fun, and makes us feel very useful and involved…</p>
<p>glad my son let his sister and me help in setting up dorm…when we left he felt kind of settled in and called last nite to say he’d had a great afternoon, put together his desk chair…and had trouble falling asleep, felt little lonely…he’s going to DC for a community service project and roommate not at school yet. all in all the weekend we spent was special…lots of laughing, reminiscing, couple swims in hotel pool and spa–great for the tension, and lovely dinners. he sent me a thoughtful little text message – they see how much energy the whole setting up process is and he’s a grateful young man. overall I feel confident he will spread his wings and fly…</p>
<p>lindz, I’m envious! We moved S in last Tuesday. He started classes today. We’ve exchanged e-mails about totally impersonal things: he sent his list of a few things I needed to mail and forwarded me two work documents I’d accidentally left on his computer. But otherwise, no reports and no contact. We had a delightful weekend when we moved him down there, and we told him we’d let him make the first call because he had a jam-packed orientation week (classes started today). I know you’re supposed to leave them alone at first. But I wish we’d agreed on a day when he would get in touch! H and I have talked about calling him tonight to find out how classes went. At home, he’s full of stories about his days. I miss that already. I know the answer is to leave him be, but it’s frustrating.</p>
<p>I totally understand Geezermom—always hard when we say, “you call first” and then they don’t…is he the type that wants to appear fine and might appreciate the call? or just really busy with his transition to classes and all? My son said it would be okay to text as it doesn’t interrupt what they’re doing even if its just trying to look cool to their roommates…</p>
<p>funny update–my son texted me earlier, I replied following my adage “you call/text us” however my new phone showed it unsent. so I thought, hmmm he might think I’m too busy to respond so I better send it again, still looked unsent, so well you get the picture – he just replied “got ur msgs, talk later” he must have thought I was over the top…oh well, technology sometimes interferes in unusual ways. </p>
<p>just thought of dinner tonight and how different it will be…time for new dynamics as others have said. my d is a senior and she adores her big bro but also commented how nice it will be to get the focus during her college application experience. (my 12 yr old always manages to get plenty of attention as he’s a classic third child–stand up comic extrovert)</p>
<p>a new day, a new phase…trying to focus on the positives and not think of the things I wish we had done before he left…oh you know, debate the meaning of life, college, spend precious last days at the beach…not argue at all…well we are all human and it just shows what a big transition it is for all of us…</p>
<p>I’m confident that he’s totally absorbed in the flurry of activity: orientation, meeting new friends, classes. If he were homesick or lonely, he would call. No news is good news with him. Still, I would love to hear his cheerful voice!</p>
<p>But I’m settling into my new life–back to work, happy that his stuff is not littering the living room, and planning to meet my H for dinner tonight. Our S is our only child, so we have a suddenly empty nest. It’s different, and it will take some getting used to. But it’s good for us, too. </p>
<p>I love your last paragraph, lindz. We had a good summer here; in fact, we had good high school years. And good years otherwise, too. Sniff.</p>
<p>I will say I was surprised how much “disappeared” into drawers, closet, bookshelves and on the bed. We had driven the bedding cross-country and it was very bulky in the car, but miniscule once the bed was made. We LOVED helping S set up his room.</p>
<p>We did set up Sunday late afternoon phone calls and that worked great for us. We would call him and if he was busy, he’d call us back.</p>
<p>I remember those Sunday afternoon phone calls when I was in college back in the day. Bethie, that’s a good idea to set up a regular time. I think we’ll do that from now on. We called him tonight. He sounded glad to hear from us, though not quite his exuberant self, which is not surprising. No matter how ready he was for college, it’s still a big transition. He’d just come upstairs from switching his laundry into the dryer. Now there’s a pleasant surprise! He and his roommate seemed compatible on Facebook, and that seems to be true in real life, too.</p>
<p>Believe me, I don’t get it, but I didn’t ask. He had more than one week’s worth of clothes. Maybe all his favorite t-shirts were dirty. He was even moving it from the washer into the dryer. At home, his loads would stay in the washer until they dried in position, stuck to the sides. </p>
<p>But seriously, the more likely answer is that he was a little bit at loose ends–so why not do laundry? Fortunately, his most recent Twitter update was pretty upbeat.</p>
<p>We dropped our son at his pre-orientation program. Will go back on the weekend for parents’ orientation. It’s a 5-hour drive (likely more on Labor Day weekend) but this way we got to see the size of the dorm room and have already decided we’re not going to bring him some of the stuff he requested, like his comfy chair from his room (there is seriously no place for it). </p>
<p>I miss him! Even though he worked days during the summer and of course was busy-busy at school, with friends, organizations, whatever, during the school year, it already feels empty here. He is not our only S but he has the biggest personality-- most outspoken, most passionate. </p>
<p>He did not take kindly to my request to set up a day to talk regularly. My husband agreed with him, and I think rightly so-- he will call us when he’s ready. Right now he is doing an outdoor adventure week so he can’t call anyway-- that’s good for me, too, to get used to it!</p>
<p>My son went early for a pre-orientation program. None of his roommates were at that particular program. Today he is finally in his suite and a couple of his roommates have arrived. They have their entire families along, so there are parents with cars who will be happy to take them shopping. That’s good news. Actually, I just got interrupted while typing with a phone call saying he’s unpacked. He sounds good. I’m happy, although I wish I could be there too.</p>
he felt kind of settled in and called last nite to say he’d had a great afternoon, put together his desk chair…and had trouble falling asleep, felt little lonely…he’s going to DC for a community service project and roommate not at school yet. all in all the weekend we spent was special…lots of laughing, reminiscing, couple swims in hotel pool and spa–great for the tension, and lovely dinners. he sent me a thoughtful little text message – they see how much energy the whole setting up process is and he’s a grateful young man. overall I feel confident he will spread his wings and fly…</p>
– he just replied “got ur msgs, talk later” he must have thought I was over the top…oh well, technology sometimes interferes in unusual ways. </p>