<p>This year has gone by really fast- my daughter will be going back to Reed in a week or so for Renn Fayre- then again for the graduation of many of her friends from freshman year- then again in August when she will begin* her* senior year.
She has done better and worse this year than I anticipated. Retaking the Organic chemistry class and working 20 hours a week at her old elementary school hasn’t been too much for her- even though her schedule has been complicated ( class- work then back to school for lab- she doesn’t have a car)
This quarter she even added another class- biochemistry- which she really enjoys, it will count for elective credit at Reed- but not for a biochem prereq.
Unfortunately- this would have been ok as she was planning on retaking microbiology instead of taking biochem this fall- but get this- Reed isn’t offering a microbiology class! The prof is going on leave- and the one they are hiring to replace him won’t be teaching micro. I do not see how they can have a biology dept without any micro classes.Very frustrating and another reason why I think ultimately Reed is just too small.
She did get her housing pick- she is going to share a townhouse with a friend who is a biochem major. First time in a long while she will have a roomate- and he hasn’t expressed any concern about her 14 yr old sister and friends coming to visit- and it will give them a lot more room to run around.
She is going to be offered her old job at computer services which is happy making and the peer mentor advisor is going to allow her to reapply to be a peer mentor even though she will technically be on academic probation.
She has her new advisor ( her previous advisor is leaving) who is head of the bio dept and she has potentially her thesis advisor staked out.
Her housemate says that the new ADD coach is very good and should be returning- that is something I was really concerned about- because when the coach left in the spring last year- that was a critical support and without it she couldn’t keep up.
I am worried about her meds- she doesn’t remember to take them everyday- I don’t know alot about her specific med- I had one that really worked for me ( when I remembered to take it) but I suspect strattera just isn’t working for her. Trying to encourage her to get all doctor stuff straightened out before going back to Portland.
She is very nervous about going back- not helped that I am concerned about it as well- but she is starting to take my advice a little bit more- and we will get more supports in place for her-
Have to love all those parenting of an ADD kid books- they assume that the parent * doesn’t* have ADD and can follow through. 
It has been great fun to have her around this year though- her last year of high school was pretty stressful for our family ( unconnected) and everyone is much more relaxed this year- although I am looking forward to having one less person in line for the bathroom!</p>
<p>This yr did go by fast. Glad to hear most is going well. Does daughter have to take micro to graduate? W/O ADD I have trouble remembering calcium & vitamins-pills die before they are used. The dog gets his glucosamine only because he gets upset when I forget-I put it in peanut butter.</p>
<p>emeraldkity~</p>
<p>It sounds like your daughter’s year has been both interesting and challenging! I am so glad that the new ADD coach will be returning. It is so important to have that kind of support. I wish your daughter all the very best for a fun and successful year at Reed when she returns in August. I can totally relate to the one-less-person-in-the-bathroom sentiment~that’s the ONLY good thing about my son’s leaving in August! ~berurah</p>
<p>^ but boys don’t take up nearly the space in the bathroom that girls do!</p>
<p>texastaximom~you haven’t met MY son!! <em>lol</em> I think he has more hair products than his sisters! <em>lol</em> 
~b</p>
<p>more whining- she did take micro already but it was last spring when she was having such trouble with school. She recieved an F in spring Ochem and a D in microbiology. ( she did better in her genetics and animal behavior classes that sem)
The grades will stay on her transcript even though she is retaking organic chemistry elsewhere-retaking Ochem at Reed wasn’t an option because they would not have given her financial aid for more than 4 years and she couldn’t have retaken it and written her thesis.
She did want to retake microbiology however and one reason why she didn’t take it at the community college was because she thought she could retake it at Reed.
I am afraid it will really limit her post grad possibilities to have such low grades on her transcript- and I don’t know how much to believe when she says the professors kept telling her how great she was doing ( they don’t give out grades & we didn’t know her grades till they came in the mail in June)
But I just realized last night- that while I tell other people how proud I am of her- and how she really has done amazingly well- considering…
I really don’t tell her enough what I think.
So last night I apologized to her- because when she was 8 I had her sister & while I love both of them very much obviously- her sister really took 110% of my time and energy for years.
So while I was able to take my youngest and her friends this week to the ocean and had a great time with them- let them drive on the beach etc- my oldest was pushed aside because the younger one demanded so much attention. - truthfully if I had, had my 2nd one first- I would have never had a 2nd- cause I would have had my tubes tied right away!
Anyone notice that it is harder to parent children who have similar traits to themselves?</p>
<p>It isn’t the products so much in the bathroom- it is that we all ( except for my husband) need it at the same time- and some people take sooo long!
my 14 yr old gets up at 6am to straighten her hair- it looks better wavy and it would save her about 20 minutes but she straightens it. ?
I of course am very fast generally- I have hair that I just towel dry- and considering that in high school I probably took an hour to put makeup on- now I take 5 min.
Ironic considering when you are young you look much better without any ;)</p>
<p>
Wow. Sister, we need to talk more often. I’ve been saying to people for years now, “If Number 2 had been Number 1, there would have been no Number 2.” (Number 2 is currently a HS sophomore and I’m attempting to avoid getting into eternal power struggles with him, but it’s a challenge.) Check back here in two years to see if I’ve jumped off the roof yet. ;)</p>
<p>It’s so touching to me that you spoke with your oldest last night. I admire your awareness, and your D’s courage and progress, and may take a cue from you and talk with my oldest this week. Sending good thoughts to all of you…</p>