<p>We will definitely miss my S’s friends, especially as we have fed so many! And I can really relate to the poster above regarding the number of shoes everywhere… </p>
<p>Half of his friends are theater guys, and they are all going to NYC! We didn’t have “one last show” because my S doesn’t do shows in the spring because of lacrosse, but the last game was really emotional for everyone. Those days are really gone… </p>
<p>At least the lacrosse guys, many of whom are going to the local community college, a few have assured me that they’d still love to come by to eat!</p>
<p>“Phone calls based on college time, like at 12 a.m. when your son or daughter has a “free moment”, routine requests for emergency replenishment of the college expense fund for those absolute necessities like Starbucks frappuccinos, those precious shared moments when your child is home during the semester break and it seems that their mere presence in a room creates an irresistible vacuum into which debris gets sucked. The vampiric social life when at home that leaves you in a constant state of sleep deprivation.”</p>
<p>Michael, your statement I quoted above (sorry, don’t have time to hunt for the instructions to make a quote box) makes me think you’ve been here at my house! I especially love your adjective “vampiric.” That is absolutely the best description ever! My D never even wants to start anything or go anywhere until 10 p.m. or later.</p>
<p>Just reading this thread brings tears to my eyes! My daughter who will be a junior this fall hasn’t been home since Christmas break and it’s been rough. We also miss her friends and the noise and laughter in the house. We actually had all of them over for a cookout and bags tournament this summer while my daughter was gone. They were kind of enough to say they missed hanging out with us (I’m sure they just took pity on us but I’ll take it!) Treasure your last moments. I still watch the videos when I get lonely. Jeez I sound pathetic. . .</p>
<p>We made DVDs of our S’s life, editing down the many hours we had archived. We plan to run them during his graduation party next month. I can’t watch them. . .</p>
<p>My S just returned home after a 2-month plus stint doing a show out-of-town. I looked at this as prep for college! While some wonderful things happened for him PROFESSIONALLY, it was really hard for him in every other way. He was young, living basically on his own, in a city 9-hours away by car! kjcg is right, though–even in this situation, his new theater pals looked after him a bit. We all survived, and the experience has helped make us ready for the separation when he goes off to college. With the dorm living and meal plan, at least I won’t have to worry about many of the things that troubled me while he was away. Being able to face a new situation with other kids his age will make him enjoy it more, I think.</p>
<p>This is slightly off-topic, but-- During his time away I worried most about him staying healthy–especially eating and sleeping well. With the stories I’ve heard about the rigor of BFA programs, I think I WILL be worried about him making eating and sleeping priority activities while at college.</p>
<p>Eating properly can be a daunting issue with the insane schedules these students must keep. Obviously, over and above the typical healthy nutrition issues, with the long active days MT students have, maintaining consistent energy levels is a must. Even at schools with a decent meal plan offering healthy alternatives, it is still tough to schedule your meals at reasonable intervals.</p>
<p>What my daughter found worked for her (her school does not have a meal plan so taking control of her nutrition was a necessity), was to stock a fridge with yogurts and keep granola on hand for quick but nutritious breakfasts that would kick start her day. Some fruit, cheese and bagel for a quick, easily portable lunch, some Harvest, Luna or Cliff bars for mid day snacks. These are things that are easy to keep around dorm rooms and require virtually no prep time. There’s a book called “The Dorm Room Diet” which is one of the smarter, practical guides for college students; it is not a “diet” book but a book on good nutrition and how to maintain good nutrition and health given the realities of college living. Well worth picking up for your college bound freshman.</p>
<p>For my daughter, having no meal plan, one of her major issues was finding the time to do shop for a full weeks worth of food for 3 meals a day plus a couple of snacks, week in and week out. We’ve been looking at online shopping and delivery from area supermarkets and will probably give that shot in the fall.</p>
<p>We just sold our son’s car since he won’t need it in NY. On the one hand we are thinking we’ve just saved about $6,000 a year to put towards school. On the other hand, there’s an empty space in the driveway. Now the words in the Harry Chapin song “Cats in the Cradle” pop into my head: </p>
<p>Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head and said with a smile
“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?”</p>
<p>This is going to be tougher than I thought…</p>
<p>The thing that drives me crazy is this…(nutritionwise) dairy is a major no-no for my D. She gets soooo congested and it effects her singing. So she has one less nutritious substance to ingest! (She does eat a little dairy.)</p>
<p>I agree that energy/health is one of my greatest concerns as well…</p>
<p>Speaking of cars, maybe someone can answer this for me. Our son shares my car and is insured on it as a part time driver. I’d like to drop him from our insurance during the time he’ll be at school (and save over $100 monthly) but then add him back during the Christmas break as well as next summer. Does anyone happen to know if insurance plans will typically allow this?</p>
<p>Great suggestions, MichaelNKat. My son doesn’t do yogurt, either. . .and he’ll never read the book. But, I’ll check it out, and I’ll offer suggestions.</p>
<p>One thing I learned while he was away is that I can’t TELL him what to do or even make unsolicited suggestions. Geeze. . .it’s becoming really hard to offer advice and almost impossible to exert some control over what he does. The good news is that he survived while away on his own and he didn’t get sick. The flip side is that he clearly lost some weight, which he really cannot afford to do!</p>
<p>snoogie - What about instant oatmeal with some raisins, or a couple of tablespoons of natural peanut butter on a Thomas Lite English Muffin with some banana slices. There’s also another book called “The Sports Nutrition Guidebook” by Nancy Clark who is a RN and multi-certified dietician/nutritionist. It is probably the best, most informative and accurate book out there on healthy sensible eating and the chapters dealing with the special needs of athletes and very active people are particularly apt for MT students who have very physical days between dance, Mt performance classes, acting classes, show rehearsals/crew etc.</p>
<p>SeniorMom08: I think a lot of Insurance plans do this. I know with ours it depends on how far away the school is. I think it has to be 200 miles in order to qualify for the Christmas/summer insurance.</p>
<p>SeniorMom08,
We have State Farm Insurance and they put kids “on vacation” all year round…It really brings the premium down. We do not have to change it when the kids come home for breaks or summer, they are still covered. Both of my kids occasionally drive friends’ cars at school and the “vacation coverage” still works then. Hopefully your insurance company has a similar policy.</p>
<p>^^Thanks Michael for the great suggestion of the “Dorm Room Diet”. My D’s school only requires a partial meal plan- with the cafeteria only open during the week-so we are really looking for suggestions on how to handle eating healthy and somewhat cheaply in NYC! I would imagine it will be hard to find time to shop for groceries.
Our insurance plan offers discounts for college students who live 50 miles away also. They are insured year round, but at an occasional driver’s rate</p>
<p>SeniorMom08,
I work for a State Farm agent. Insurance varies in every state, but the “vacation” coverage ttmom mentions is called a “student away” discount. In Texas, it is 20%, and it doesn’t matter how far away they are, if they are not going to be coming home every weekend and driving your or someone else’s car. If you have State Farm, your student may also qualify for the academic achievement discount and the Steer Clear discount. I think those are available in most states. PM me for more information or, better yet, call your agent and ask about every discount possible for your student. Sorry to hijack this thread. She started it… :D</p>
<p>For those who can not sing while eating dairy, what about SOY products? The vanilla soy milk, soy yogurt, veggie cheese etc. at first might be an acquired taste, but get better tasting when there’s no other choice(s). We like it all and we’re not even vegetarians - give it a try.
I have both of Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebooks as previous marathon
running nutrition sources…didn’t think to pass them on to my D’s.<br>
Thanks MNK (again & again)! ;-)</p>
<p>So far I am okay about my D leaving…it does help that I remarried last month so I am a bit distracted! Something happened last August that was my big transition moment, though. Since she was 11, my D has done a children’s theatre program (Summer Stage) near home. It’s an incredible program, great facility, wonderful staff, professional production value. She was there from 9 AM until 10:30 PM most days! She had her first ever solo there and got her first kiss as Cinderella on that stage. It put her on the path to her heart’s desire and I am so grateful to the program. She aged out of it last August.</p>
<p>It was just before the last performance of my daughter’s last children’s theatre show EVER…a very emotional week but I was holding it together for her sake. After the director spoke, the cast went into the Summer Stage theme song, with choreography…and in front of me, a 4-year-old girl stood up and started clapping and dancing and imitating the hand gestures. (Kids do that all the time.) Time rewound for me and I saw my own little girl hopping off my lap to do the same thing, being swept up in the magic years ago, and now it was another child’s turn. I completely lost it and sobbed well into the opening number. </p>
<p>I know I will cry when I leave my D at BoCo…but I have been living with the end for so long, I can’t imagine I will ache as much as I did that day.</p>
<p>My D is about to be a senior in college so I have already been through what you all are experiencing. I must say, though, that I surprised myself. I didn’t cry a single tear at her high school graduation or when I dropped her off at college. I really thought I would because I am the biggest cry baby you ever saw. I cry at everything. Really. I can’t read many emails at work because they all make me cry. I rarely even go see movies because it’s so embarrassing to leave the theater with a red nose and watery eyes from crying. It can be a happy movie, but if there is one sad scene, I cry. Especially if it involves animals or children. When my kids were little, I would have to leave the room during certain scenes of “Bambi” to keep from crying. Anyway, you get the picture. I have always been like this. I cried throughout my own entire high school graduation and opted to elope because I knew I would bawl through my own wedding. I guess I’m just sentimental. But for some reason I did not cry at either of my own kids’ graduations and didn’t even feel sad leaving D at school. I miss her terribly, and you will miss your kids, but maybe it won’t be as sad as you think.</p>
<p>I am the baby and I remember thinking that my parents had no life left after I went off to school and I was so sorry for them… I mean, they were PARENTS and their last kid was gone!</p>
<p>Imagine my surprise when they almost immediately left for a Euorpean Cruise!!! LOL!</p>
<p>I was told that my mom cried the entire afternoon I left for school and then that was that. (My sister, on the other hand, enjoyed the heck out of herself rearranging our shared bedroom to her liking.) </p>
<p>Of course, my parents had two younger kids left, so it wasn’t an empty nest.</p>