Precious Daughters - Bullet Edition

• Precious Youngest is home for the summer.
• It took two vehicles to get all her shit home in one trip.
• Her dorm room wasn’t that big. One wonders how they fit all that stuff in the room all year.
• Priority one is finding a summer job.
• Well, from OUR perspective.
• The real priority one is getting some sleep.
• Priority two is cleaning out the shit hole she calls her room.
• Well, that’s MY priority two.
• The real priority two is catching up with The Pie and friends.
• Precious Oldest is not coming home this summer
• She has a job on campus that pays well and will allow her time to take a six hundred level class she would not otherwise be able to fit in her schedule.
• Let’s allow that to sink in a bit shall we?
• Precious Oldest is not coming home this summer.
• Six young men we have known ALL THEIR LIVES are graduating this week end. Five high school; one college.
• That makes me feel incredibly old.
• I've got nothing else except sweetbabyjesusu enough with the rain already!!!!

Mama Bear Sends Her Love

Green Girl asked, in response to a comment I left on this post, what DOES one send to college students in a care package these days?

I send four or five packages a year. Generally Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and finals weeks. Precious Oldest reports that word spreads quickly when a package has arrived for her and she usually has an audience when she opens it.

Every time I go to Target I swing through their dollar section. The stores I frequent have several aisles devoted to cheap sale items right up front. (Sometimes I throw in a Target gift card too.)

Holiday themed fleece blankets have always been a big hit!

My girls love socks, so those are always fun.

For finals snacks are a must and just plain silly things; sidewalk chalk, gumballs, Disney princess pens.


And, if you are a REALLY good mother, a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints you found squirreled away in the deep freeze gets added to the mix!


I do this the old fashioned way. I save boxes (shoe boxes, catalogue delivery boxes, etc.) and packing materials from the office.



The correct size box is important. Things should fit snugly to avoid to much shifting during transport.





I wrap them in brown paper.







I didn't say I did a good job!

If I get these in the mail today they should arrive Monday.

It isn't extravagant. It isn't expensive. It isn't hard. It just says we love you and we're thinking about you. Isn't that all anyone wants after all?

Loving her new living quarters

First the back story:
Precious Youngest lived in West Hall her freshman and sophomore years. This year she is an R.A. in a different dorm. The day we moved her in to her new digs she and a friend (also an R.A. and also a former West Hall resident) ran through their new dorm shouting “OMG – we lived in a slum for two years and we didn’t even know it!!!”

Flash forward:
Here is an e-mail sent to me yesterday

To:Fannie@work
From: Precious.Oldest@school
Sent: Tue 10/06/09 04:24 PM
Subject: GHETTO

Remember how much of a ghetto West Hall is? This weekend, a pipe burst and flooded the entire basement, leaked into some electrical appliances, caused an electrical fire in the elevator shaft, and forced the entire hall to evacuate for two days. HOORAY!

<3 Precious Oldest

Sometimes timing is everything!

Worth a Post? Hard to Say

Oops, I didn't mean to fall off the edge of the earth. But what have I been up to that's worth writing about?

That I missed my blogoversary back on August 10th?

That I turned 47 on Monday?

That I haven't heard back about my last interview BUT got called for an interview from the second resume I sent out?

That the Precious Daughters are busy navigating new college classes?

That my parents are celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary today?

I just don't know. What do you think?

Done

The deed is done. Precious Youngest is ensconced at her new school. Aside from throwing up on the ride there I think she's OK.

Her room is set, we went to lunch with two new dorm-mates, her books are picked up and, most importantly, her Internet access is working like a charm. I have pictures. But I need to pull them off the camera.

Classes don't start until Monday, so they have a few days to get acclimated to campus and figure out where their classes will be.

I can't think of a way to wrap this up except to say I'm a little blue.

Transition

We were visiting with some acquaintances after church on Sunday. Their daughter had been married the week before and I was enjoying hearing their description of her very lovely wedding. They asked about the Precious Daughters and we verified that both girls were both off to college this year. They asked when they were leaving and right there on the church walkway I started crying.

The Saint and I moved Precious Oldest back to school on Saturday. She will be an R.A. this year, so she went back early to get trained, to get her floor organized, to decorate doors and be there to welcome the residents. We met her boss, we like him very much. One of her friends is an R.A. three floors up and they are so excited about this new adventure.

We take Precious Youngest to school next Tuesday. Two hours in the opposite direction of her sister. We have started packing and will be checking our list carefully. She has been in contact with her room mate (so far so good) and will have several friends from high school enrolled there as well. Her class schedule worked out nicely and we anticipate a good launch.

They will be fine, we will be fine, I keep telling myself these things over and over. After all I do have a life; a job, a husband, friends, hobbies. But PEOPLE I am SAD. All their light and energy and enthusiasm is going to go with them. The same energy that sparked more than one fire over the years to be sure; but energy that has brought us immeasurable joy. It will not be the same when they’re gone.

Back To School

All around the blogosphere folks are talking “Back-To-School”. As you know, I’m getting ready to send two kids off to college. Well folks, let me tell you the difference between “Regular” Back-To-School shopping and “I’m leaving for College” Back-To- School shopping.

Ahem:

Regular: Backpack.

Pre-College: Sheets, towels, pillows, mattress pad, shower caddy, waste basket, laundry basket, stackable storage unit, under-bed storage unit, flash light, desk lamp, alarm clock, adhesive hooks….

Regular : Glue, folders, binders, notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, notebook paper, graph paper.

Pre-College: Folders, notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, printer paper, dry erase board, bulletin board, magnets, push pins, tool box, sewing kit, lint roller, batteries, post-its….

Regular: Calculator.

Pre-College: Microwave, refrigerator, flat screen TV with DVD player....

Regular: Box of tissues, roll of paper towels.

Pre-College: Boxes of tissues, tampons, pads, Aleve, Band-aids, Neosporin, cough drops, Nyquil, shampoo, conditioner, brush, comb, soap, razors, deodorant, tooth paste, tooth brush, lotion, laundry soap, dryer sheets….

Turns out feathering the empty nest ain’t cheap folks!

In which I am wistful

This Christmas break seemed so short. Too short

Precious Youngest took her last final December 18th and turned around the next day to go to the regional debate tournament. Classes resumed yesterday. That’s two weeks and change for Christmas break.

Precious Oldest also finished finals on the 18th, drove home, and turned around to go with her sister to regionals. Her classes start again late next week, but she’ll go back to campus this weekend as she has to work. A little bit longer break, but still…

Senior year of high school is stressful. The work load is intense and the college application process is grueling. Observing the college age kids of various friends it appears sophomore and junior years at university take their toll. This was certainly the case for Precious Oldest last semester. They were so ready for the break and now it’s over.

I’ve been cooking up favorite meals and trying to get as many hugs in as I can. Time is moving fast my friends. Too fast.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The good...

You may recall we had yet another college visit scheduled for today. In one of our sessions this afternoon I thought one of the panelists looked very familiar. When she introduced herself I bounced up and down in my seat just a little. She was the professor who taught my very first history of art class. She was fairly new to the university at the time and, since I always sat in the front row, we got to know each other quickly.

Her enthusiasm for her subject of the class was so contagious that I took another art history course, and then another, and another, and the next thing I knew I had myself a double major. When our art museum was looking for a new director, she asked me to serve as the student representative on the search committee. She was also largely responsible for the departmental award I received my senior year. I've kept up with her career and family through department newsletters over the years.

I went to speak with her after the session and she's just as warm and enthusiastic as she was twenty plus years ago. Many years have passed since I last saw her, she is the Chair of the department now, but we talked as though I had stepped out of her classroom days rather than decades ago. I have to say I'm still smiling!

The bad...

On to another topic; I am ready to smack a certain seventeen year old. I know she's tired, I know she's stressed, I know she has a lot on her plate. But so help me - the craptastic attitude has GOT TO GO!

The ugly...

I leave you with one last thing. If an automobile engine runs out of oil, guess what happens? I should have prizes for Ree and Susan. I'm just sayin'. *sigh*

As promised

Campus life in pictures


Rubbing his beak is supposed to be good luck on game day.








We had a great tour guide. She hails from Minnesota and I enjoyed her accent.








We didn't see very many students out before noon








I liked this building and its nod to Art Deco
















It seems they made an effort to take elements of old buildings into consideration when constructing new ones























They have a beautiful church on campus








Some of the Professors live back here.












We drove home through a gathering storm.









I have no way to wrap this up except to say we visitMY Alma Mater one last school on Monday. I don't mind saying I'm glad we're down to three!

Quickie

We had a good school visit yesterday and I have pictures, but no time to upload.

There are BIG decisions to be made. We've been to two VERY different schools, both with excellent programs in Precious Youngest's intended field of study. We see one more school next week and then begin the discernment process.

Any words of wisdom?

We watched

the election returns in a hotel room last night. Knowing that next year we'll have two kids in college. Though our careful plans to finance those educations remain off the proverbial rails.

God speed President Elect Obama. And God speed to your colleagues in the House and Senate. God speed.

Elections and other shit

So yeah, remember me being all "glass half full" yesterday morning? All "Woo Hoo! The sun's coming up before 7 AM!" Um, so I kind of forgot that meant I would be driving home in waning light and that it would be pitch black before I got dinner on the table. Blech.


Did you vote today? I tried to do advanced voting last week but was faced with huge lines every time. Today I went straight from the gym and the wait was only about thirty minutes. I slid into the office just a few minutes late. (Attempt to ignore shitty quality of cell phone picture.)



I'm taking off work tomorrow. We're driving about three hours north tonight as we're taking Precious Youngest to another school for yet another college visit. I'm going to try to remember my camera this time. You need to see all these fresh faced, enthusiastic college students. Oh my!

Now get out there and VOTE!