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TechWife
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What a difference a year makes! 

We move ds back to the dorm in four days. We have done almost nothing to prepare. So far, dh has taken Friday off of work, we have a Friday hotel reservation and we have refilled ds' prescriptions. That is all. Everything is where he dumped it when he came back in may - except for the boxes he rummaged through for art supplies and his clothes. In theory, it should  make for an easy move, but in reality he has a lot of stuff he needs to sort through because he accumulated an amazing amount of stuff. 

 

How are things going for everyone else? 

 

 

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Bwahahaha!

 

What a difference two years makes!

 

This time two years ago we had tons of dorm supplies packed up and ready to go. On Saturday we're helping DS moves into an apartment he'll be sharing with two roommates and what do we have ready to go? Almost nothing. :lol: 

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I don't know how you people do it! We had so many up front costs that I was shocked. It seemed like we were buying stuff for the month before she moved in. DH says lots of it is stuff that will last her so it's not so bad. The worst thing is the tv. We bought her a brand new tv and couldn't hook it up in the dorm. The jack was on the opposite side of the room as the tv. The tv cable we brought was supposedly long enough but DH didn't want to bother trying it and just wanted to leave it up to dd to figure out. I thought that was mean. He was just tired and stressed and ready to go home. The next day she told me she had to contact tech support and they told her she needed some special box to hook the tv to the campus cable so she ordered it from Amazon. She got the extension cord to plug both tv and Wii in and put it around the wall to the outlet. She tried hooking up the Wii but couldn't connect to the internet so she can't watch Netflix or Hulu which was the whole reason we bought the tv! The guy across the hall from her said he would help and then they forgot about it that day and now she's afraid to ask him. I don't know what to tell her.

 

We had so much stuff to move in. The boxes kept falling off the dolly as DH was wheeling it. Both dd and I were carrying a huge suitcase and pulling a wheeled one behind us. The suitcases were heavy and it's Tuesday and my shoulders still ache! The wheeled suitcases were tipping over. The tote bags were falling off our shoulders. Gosh, I wish we never had to do any of that again.

 

She's missing home already. Her dorm is small and she's used to a large private bedroom at home. This is going to be a huge transition for her.

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Beth, 

 

It will be better next year - I promise! It's only because we went through what you described during previous years that it's so easy in the following years. At least I hope it is. I'll let you know for sure after this weekend. I could very well end up eating my words!

 

I hope her transition goes smoothly, I know that it's rough those first few weeks! Hopefully she'll find a way to naturally bring up the Wii problems with her neighbor or with someone else who can help her. 

 

 

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We are struggling to get it all together, The room stuff, the shared bathroom stuff, the books and school supplies, the new school clothes, the old school clothes, lost running shoes, last minute financial details, online alcohol and sexual harassment prevention videos for dd to watch, It kind of makes for an unpleasant couple of last weeks before moving her in.

 

I keep telling myself that this, too, shall pass and that she will thrive once she gets there. But there is that tiny, little, niggling doubt in the back of my mind that she is not ready. That all this will be for nothing. I haven't felt this unsettled since we started homeschooling and I was sure I was ruining her life.

 

Breathe, we just have to breathe deeply. And drink wine. And hold on.

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We are very blasĂƒÂ© over here :)

 

My daughter goes to school cross country so 99% of her stuff was stored with a service for the summer and will be delivered to her room day after she arrives.

 

She has a large suitcase and over stuffed backpack she will fly back to school with.

 

I have a ginormous box of Amazon.com stuff ready to hit the send button on.

 

Last year her Uncle dropped her off and had to wait for hours to unload the car.

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DS has a very specific packing list.  He is in a ROTC unit within a Corps of Cadets and isn't really allowed to have things that aren't on the list.  While he is taking things like his swimming gear and climbing shoes for fitness, he won't have a tv.  He won't have to worry about a stylish comforter or other homey items.  At some point in the semester, he might earn the privilege of having a poster.

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Beth, 

 

It will be better next year - I promise! It's only because we went through what you described during previous years that it's so easy in the following years. At least I hope it is. I'll let you know for sure after this weekend. I could very well end up eating my words!

 

I hope her transition goes smoothly, I know that it's rough those first few weeks! Hopefully she'll find a way to naturally bring up the Wii problems with her neighbor or with someone else who can help her. 

 

Thanks, we think we have the Wii problem resolved. Her neighbor told her she needed to be plugged directly in with an ethernet cable. I had just figured out the same thing. We actually already had one in her room for her computer. Unfortunately the Wii doesn't have an ethernet connection and we had to buy an adaptor. So she's had to buy a cable box for the tv and an adaptor for the Wii. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that these things are truly all she needs.

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My son told me the wrong move in date back in June. I am chaperoning an all-day field trip on his move in date that I cannot get out of at all. He is a sophomore so it is not a big deal. I just hate that I won't be able to be there, but I do not hate that I won't have to move boxes in the Georgia heat and humidity!  Good luck everyone!

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Between dd's  sophomore and junior years, she became a minimalist, dependent of my (then) newly found KonMari thing too, and dd shames me. We realized she had so few things to move in her dorm jr year, and she was on the 1st floor, so it would be a breeze, that we'd only be needed for 5-10 minutes. So she was fine w/ our staying home. (She has her own car at school.)

 

This year she's in an apartment and has some bigger furniture, so we'll probably go when she moves in and help w/ that. But she's still a minimalist. 

 

So, we get more laid back each year.  I hope I remember everything for ds  when it's his turn! 

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Ds is a minimalist. Last year, move in was so easy. There were move in crews. We waited in line, unloaded his stuff at the curb, he went and got his keys and by the time we parked, everything was in his room. We helped him move furniture and unpack and it was done. This year, moving in as a sophomore, he will not get a move in crew, but we have a dolly and I don't expect it to be a big deal.

 

Dd is not a minimalist. I feel like she is taking more than we can possibly get there in our SUV + her car. Her dorm is nice and the rooms are reasonably large. She has measured everything and knows exactly how it will all be arranged and that it will all fit. There will be move in crews when she moves in, but I'm still expecting it to be a challenge.

 

I'll report back next weekend when they are both in and I am officially an empty-nester.

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We're not moving into dorms, but we're in the process of moving. Ds and I are in the new house, 8 minutes from school instead of 40 miles! My mom is moving in this week. Between all the chaos we might get a few days of down time before school starts on the 29th. 

 

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Ds is also far from school, and the majority of his things are stored. Last summer we did a pod. This year that wasn't as workable since he is doing study abroad winter quarter and will have to move in and out in the autumn and in and out in the spring. He got an off-site storage unit this year. MUCH less expensive than the pod. He had to rent a zip car to move it all in, but it wasn't bad at all. We will keep it through the study abroad time - maybe longer. It may depend on what he finds (hopefully) for summer job/internship next year.

 

He brought home two suitcases and a backpack, so what is here are clothes and laptops/iPad. Even though he is going abroad in the middle of the school year, he is taking his car out. He and his dad are having big fun planning their week-long road trip and choosing sights to see. They drove out for freshman year primarily to take ds's full-sized keyboard. I flew out for move-in. Last year he flew back and pod was delivered, so he was all on his own. Since they are driving, ds is taking golf clubs this trip out. And dh will be there to help with move in. He'll fly back.

 

His being away has made me realize he's pretty capable without me! That's a good thing!

 

ETA: Being on a quarter system, they don't head out until September 17th with classes starting the 26th. Extra late this year, I think because Christmas falls on a Sunday.

Edited by Hoggirl
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With my youngest now a junior, move in is a breeze.  All I had to do was buy him a plane ticket.  Well, we'll drive him to the airport too, of course.

 

I still buy books too, but that's essentially done already - sent to them at their colleges to be picked up there.

 

It's definitely a huge difference from freshman year for each of them.

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We leave in one week. Dd has packed nothing. I take that back. She put winter fall items into her new laundry bag. We are borrowing my mom's SUV, but mostly because her younger brother and I are coming and we each need an overnight bag. She's got a trash can and a new laptop. She's excited about going but I'm starting to get the impression we could probably fit everything she wants to bring in our Prius.

 

We are staying overnight and moving in in the morning, then I think found a Target run for laundry detergent. I suspect ds and I will be out of there by lunch and I will cry all the way home.

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Wow, that was easy! 

 

We arrived in town on Friday afternoon and ds went to the rental company to pick up his parking sticker (they are closed on weekends, so he had to get in on Friday). We stayed in a hotel on Friday night and walked to dinner and back. On Saturday morning, we got up and got over to the uni at 9:30 am (check in started at 9:00am). There was no traffic, we had a parking space right in front of the dorm door and moved things upstairs very quickly and ds had no line at check in. In fact, he had to call the RA on duty because he was working in another building. After that, we moved cars and met up at the bookstore, where ds picked up his books and we said goodbye. Done! We were out of town by 11:45 am! 

 

 

 

 

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Gosh, we won't even begin to start thinking about this until mid-September. Both my kids are on the quarter system and their first day of class is Sep 26 for oldest and Sep 28 for youngest.  My ds did buy his XL twin sheets and comforter with a graduation gift card. But that's it.

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We moved son2 and son3 into their apartment just slightly off the university campus this weekend.

 

Everything went just fine. I am more amused than worried at their adjustments.

 

Such as not listening to me about the extensive list of things a first apt needs until one of them is shouting to the other that they need to go buy a plunger for the toilet ASAP.

 

Also, after the third time today that my husband texted me asking if I'd heard from them and if they had eaten - I texted them to remind them to eat. None of my kids have ever needed reminding to eat so far, and I have no idea why Dh wouldn't just pony up to his worry himself, but the boys have been informed to eat something and that it probably wouldn't hurt to text their father a picture of the meal.

 

Mostly, they have it pretty good. Better than Dh and I when when got married. Nicer apt. Fully furnished. Cheaper than our first apt 20+ yrs ago. We were laughing that we got our first frig with an ice maker a couple years ago and they have one in their apt already. AND A washer and dryer. We didn't have that until baby 1 arrived. They have funds and transport for anything they need. Today was first day of classes. Though they both are taking 5 classes, son3 is in class from 8am- 6:30 MWF and I suspect he will be beyond brain fried at the end of his day. He is also my super social guy, so balancing his academics with social events is going to be rough for a couple weeks. We have been teasing him to not go all Sue Heck about all the social activities and clubs. Son2 is social, but prefers small groups of friends and otherwise doesn't much care about the social scene. Just show him where his plane is and let him take off and he is happy as can be. Oh and son3 is really not tech addicted or used to constant tech use. It's just not his personality. Just point him to the agriculture department or the foreign language lab. So he is taking a free program the uni offers to students to get them adjusted to use of tech in the classrooms.

 

Anyways. So far, so good. I suspect some typical rough balancing acts the first quarter, but otherwise, I think they are going to be okay.

 

I did annoy them by insisting on going with them to buy their books. I've never smelled a basement like bunker the size of 2 houses that smelled so good as all those stacks of university books. lol

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My rising senior has had the same apartment all summer, so no issues with her move.

 

We are all flying out (cross country) for the new freshman's move-in, and doing a family vacation for the week leading up to it (which will include a bit of college shopping, but hopefully not too much.) We pre-ordered one of those dorm linen kits to have delivered there, along with the micro-fridge and loft kit (which the school will put together.) The stress will be in getting her to focus and pack the stuff that is here, and clean up her area downstairs (she pretty much took over her sister's old room, in addition to hers, and of course the hallway and bathroom. It's a big ol' mess all around.) A little under two weeks left.

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Mostly, they have it pretty good. Better than Dh and I when when got married. Nicer apt. Fully furnished. Cheaper than our first apt 20+ yrs ago. We were laughing that we got our first frig with an ice maker a couple years ago and they have one in their apt already. AND A washer and dryer. l

Same experience here. And the apt comes with a dishwasher and designated parking spaces. It would rent for 3x if it was in the area I live in, as the landlords here have enough people making Manhattan wages that they charge Manhattan rents. But for ds' s location, he is less than a mile from campus, his bedroom is bigger than a double dorm room, and there is a bathroom on each floor, for less than a dorm contract..with central air and utilities included. His friend paid 50 less a month to live in a 1940s house in a bad neighborhood with onstreet parking, no ac, sharing a bathroom and kitchen with four other people who kept the place cold in winter . We still arent sure why his mother picked that place, but he moved over the following year. There just isnt as much price difference between a luxury apt and a dump as when I went to college. Edited by Heigh Ho
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Due to a year-round 12-hour-per-week position, dd2 had an apartment in her college town all summer. She flew up to Maine to join us on vacation, leaving her car at the church parking lot for the 10 days.

 

Drop-off consisted of me stopping at a church parking lot, her unloading a duffle and a canvas tote into her car, and both of us driving off. Very anti-climactic.

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Same experience here. And the apt comes with a dishwasher and designated parking spaces. It would rent for 3x if it was in the area I live in, as the landlords here have enough people making Manhattan wages that they charge Manhattan rents. But for ds' s location, he is less than a mile from campus, his bedroom is bigger than a double dorm room, and there is a bathroom on each floor, for less than a dorm contract..with central air and utilities included. His friend paid 50 less a month to live in a 1940s house in a bad neighborhood with onstreet parking, no ac, sharing a bathroom and kitchen with four other people who kept the place cold in winter . We still arent sure why his mother picked that place, but he moved over the following year. There just isnt as much price difference between a luxury apt and a dump as when I went to college.

Yep. Dh and I felt old telling them how spoiled they were. Washer,dryer, dishwasher, central heat and air, frig with ice maker, sink with garbage disposal, each bedroom has its own full bathroom, assigned parking spaces, full size beds (and pretty decent mattresses too) fully furnished dining room and living room (leather sofa, chair and ottoman and two end tables).

 

Dh and I have decide to heck with retirement homes. When we get old enough for that, we're just going to college.

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When my dd moved out in the spring, her roommate's family kindly took her bigger stuff (a small desk and chair and a rolling cart) since they live in the city her school is in, and we packed everything else into two or three big garbage bags, which we promptly stored in our garage and in which they still sit.

 

This fall we'll just throw those garbage bags back into the car and back to the dorm.  It should be pretty simple.  Which is nice, because the rest of our time there is usually a little chaotic.  We have a part-time family business in the city her college is in, and that's our busiest time of the year.  Last year we just pulled up to her dorm for about 10 minutes while all her older sisters helped run everything up to her room and I sat idling in the car in the No Parking zone.   I anticipate it being about the same this year!

 

But we'll see her lots during that first two-week period even after she moves in, due to our business, which is really nice.  She moves in next week.  

 

 

 

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Dh and I have decide to heck with retirement homes. When we get old enough for that, we're just going to college.

 

College is much cheaper than assisted living. Think about it: 

access to healthcare through student health

no utilities to pay

someone to cook for you (my son's college even has delivery pizza from the cafe)

no/little transportation cost

inexpensive rent (really, we can pay for an entire year of dorm life for less than two months in assisted living)

accommodations for disabilities (wheelchair accessible dorms, classrooms, cafeterias, bathrooms, etc.)

cheap entertainment - think of all of the lecture series' and classical music concerts given by students

 

Sigh. 

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Move in was relatively easy, well organized.  However, we choose an older room for a discount and all the power outlets are on the other side of the room.  The dorms do not allow extension cords.  :mellow: So we had to find a power strip with a long cord.  The ethernet outlet is also on the other side of the room.  Luckily we had a 50 foot cord at home.  I sent off my first care package yesterday, including her lab coat and goggles they failed to tell us she would need for chemistry.

 

I packed chocolate bar in her stuff in envelops. Each one labeld for open after: first week of classes, after first exam, thanksgiving (not coming home), birthday and after final exams.

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I finally have something to contribute!

 

We helped dd move in today. The best thing we did was get there early, about 15 minutes before the dorms actually opened. Dh had 95% of her stuff in his truck and had pulled into the parking lot a few minutes ahead of dd and I in a second vehicle. The first thing we saw was him and his 12 new, best friends - a group from the campus ROTC (God bless those fine young men and women!!!). As soon as the doors unlocked about 5 minutes later, they all grabbed something and in the blink of an eye, we were unloaded and everything was delivered to her 3rd floor room. 

 

Dh had to go to a meeting at his office right after he helped hook her computer, tv and printer up. I stayed and helped her put things away. Her roommate moved in, and suitemate as well. It seems as if they will be a good group. Then the suitemate had to leave for work and the roommate had to go to a meeting and I left for lunch and a last minute Walmart run, so poor, little dd was left there, all alone.

 

But, by the time I grabbed a bite of lunch and picked up those last few things at Walmart and got back to campus, she and a new friend came down to get them. So not so sad and lonely after all! 

 

I feel kind of like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am braced for some kind of panicked communication regarding some critically important item that was left behind.  But maybe not - I was happily wrong about her being lonely, so maybe I will be wrong about this too. I was worried I would feel really sad, but for now, all I feel is tired and a bit overwhelmed by the need to get the house back in order after Hurricane DD blasted out.

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Move in tomorrow morning. We are staying at a motel tonight. I borrowed my dad's luxury SUV for this trip. (We don't own a large vehicle). I picked it up last night. He spent 20 minutes on how to open and close the rear lift gate. Then he went over a bunch of other stuff. You'd think a luxury vehicle would be easy.

 

Another thing he spent some time explaining is don't lock the car with the key inside. So now at the motel, dd ran out to the car to get something and dropped the key inside and the door shut.

 

My dad has never used OnStar before, but he has it. I called him and he didn't know what to do. So I googled OnStar. The nice customer representative walked through determining I'm not someone stealing the car and she opened the doors.

 

Crisis averted. My dad now knows OnStar works. We also used the CD player (HP book 6). Dad has never used his CD player either.

 

Hopefully, tomorrow morning is smooth.

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Dropped off dd yesterday at Really Huge University. 

 

In some ways anticlimactic. She chose to move in on a day that is not an official move-in day, and it was worth every penny spent in rent for those extra days. Since no one else was moving in, we had the elevator all to ourselves and there were no crowds where we were. 

 

It was a long day, but I was so thankful we took the time to make her room homey and to walk to her classrooms. Yes, I know she can figure out where her classes are, but it meant a lot to me to see where she will be. In her room, her father and brother moved all the furniture patiently into 900 configurations before a final decision was made. We hung a big printed tapestry on the wall behind her futon. Dh thought it ridiculous, but I brought my sewing machine. Glad I did, as I could quickly hem up a shower curtain which we hung under the loft bed to hide the clutter underneath. When we left, dd's bed was made, her wifi operational, and her clothes mostly unpacked. The room looked pleasant.

 

So proud of her, and I miss her already.

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We moved my baby in today. Everything went really smoothly. We were early in line and the move-in crews were fresh and excited. They grabbed all her stuff and she led them to the room. As I have said in my roommate thread, she has a double room with no room-mate for now. That was GREAT for move-in purposes. We had plenty of room to move everything around as we pleased then get all of her stuff unpacked. We took her to lunch and for a last Wal-mart run then said our goodbyes. 

 

Saturday I officially become an empty nester.

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We moved #2 in on Tuesday this week. It was a lot easier and way less emotional than my first time around. We drove down 4 hours, got her moved in and unpacked and then drove 4 hours home. We were only there for about 45 minutes. Her roommate was already there, and seemed very nice. They're a lot alike, and they've been texting each other for weeks, so I think it'll be a good fit. She has some local friends who are attending the same university, and she'll be playing rugby, so she's pretty well plugged in already.

 

We used two 40 gallon tote bins with wheels and a handle, and pretty much all of her clothes, toiletries, sheets, towels, sundries and sports equipment fit in there. She carried her backpack with her school supplies. We didn't try to bring down winter stuff this time, like we did with my oldest, and that reduces the amount of things to move in by quite a bit. We'll either drive her winter stuff down at family weekend in October, or mail it to her. Having the two large totes with wheels let us move things in with one easy load, which worked out well because she's on the 6th floor.

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We had the easiest move in ever with middle son...  He called last night to tell us he was unpacking (and has been this week).  Since he stayed in Rochester for the summer (at a rental house), he and his friends moved him from the house to his 4th floor (walk up) dorm room.  All we had to do was "like" his FB photo!   :coolgleamA:

 

He's (partially) leading RA training this year (since it's his third year of being an RA).  Freshmen move in next Wed for his school.  He's starting to feel the nostalgia of so many "lasts" including his "last time of moving into a dorm."

 

How do they grow up so quickly?  Sniff, sniff.  I'm pretty sure it was only last week we were looking at colleges.

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My college two have left. Ds1 drove out with his friend yesterday. They are living in a college-owned apartment this year. They have best friends across their back door, so like a "Friends" set up. He is excited not to be on the meal plan. He can actually cook, so I am not too worried. He has great classes lined up for this semester, so I hope things go well.

Dd1 was at the summer session. After finals, she moved to her new hall (with the help of teammates' father, thanks!), bought herself a bike and set up her room. Her new roommate (also teammate hadn't arrived yet). She came home for 3 short days and left again this morning for her mandatory athlete orientation (she did most of it this summer, so it is a repeat). Tons of team meetings on Sunday and classes (and practices) start Monday.

 

Move-in is pretty simple from afar.

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DS just moved dorms as he was in summer school. My DH helped move a few things from home over. He enjoys his time there so much , that "home" visits as just that. I am not sure that he will come live with us for an entire summer. He even works on campus and may need to work over a few holidays. Fortunately, he has a wonderful schedule, and i can look forward to visiting him for some lunch dates on alternate Fridays. I miss my boy.

Edited by Silver Brook
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My dd is leaving early on Monday.  She brough home a carfull of stuff and she had signed up with a delivery system at her college so her friudge and many other things are being delivered on Monday as well. We are going to visit her over Labor Day weekend.  She is planning to come camping with us and her sister and b-i-l over Parent's weekend.  She didn't want to have us visit then. THen later fall break and Thanksgiving break. 

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OK. I am back home. I haven't broken down yet. This summer rushed by. I didn't get to do a lot of "college shopping" with dd because of my work hours. So, getting to this point has been a blur. 

 

We left on Thursday afternoon after borrowing my dad's luxury SUV. We brought her younger brother along so he could see she wasn't disappearing (he has intellectual disabilities). It's a five hour drive, but I didn't want to do the drop off in a blur and be exhausted driving home so we planned the trip with a motel stay. Dd was not handling stress well in the morning and I kept reminding myself to let all her snapping roll off me. The school had these huge rolling bins that we used. All her stuff fit in one so only one trip from the car to the room. 

 

dd's room mate moved in on Wed and then went home She lives 10 miles from the school. So all the roommate's stuff was there set up. I left ds with dd while she unpacked. I had to move the car because the school gave out 30 minute passes for unpacking. We took care of getting books, got a fitness pass for extra classes at the campus rec facilities (general gym and pool use is free classes like zumba, pilates, yoga, aren't free) and tried to talk to finance people about her flex dollars account because the online system was down when we tried to add money. She was still snapping at me in the bookstore and I said I was going to take her brother to sit in a cafe area and she could come get me if she wanted help. Then, she said no, she really wanted us in the stacks with her. I have no idea why. I actually couldnt do anything she had to work with a bookstore employee to get what she needed. But ds and I sat between engineering and chemistry supplies, while she collected what she needed. I took her to Target to get a box of cheerios. We had a late lunch at local nonchain and said goodbye. 

 

We'd had trouble with the rail on her loft bed and she was supposed to have a maintenance person come help her. After I left she asked a man who was helping a girl in the next room. It turned out he was the father of a boy down the hall. The man got his son and the two of them fixed dd's bed. My dd is not good at asking for help, so this was good news to me. She didn't go out to any activities last night. She texted with me about Olympic diving. 

 

This morning she went to a local bakery to does gluten free offerings on Saturdays. She texted me that she'd miss her room mate coming back today because she was going out to play a game with some people she'd met. (This is great because, dd is known to have hermit tendencies). 

 

Anyway, I think this going to be OK. I want to know what game and who these people are, but I think I have to let that go. OK I know I have to let that go. 

 

In two weeks my sister (an alumnus of the school) and I are going to the home opener football game. dd is making a list of small forgotten items I am to bring. 

 

How often am I allowed to text? call?

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We moved my son into his freshman dorm yesterday, about an hour away from home. He is my oldest, so this is a new experience for all of us. We spent the vast majority of the day before packing up all the things we had accumulated throughout the summer, and I was pretty worried that he had too much stuff: two suitcases, three boxes with kitchen and bathroom stuff (6 people in an apartment-style suite with a full kitchen), a box with a new printer, and a garbage bag with all his bedding.

 

Boy was I ever surprised to see the amount of stuff other people brought! DS had about a third of many people - it was actually pretty funny to see the huge piles that were stacked around many of the girls waiting for the helpers to come. They had big prints to hang on the wall - like 4'x3' prints, decorative lamps, one brought a coffee table (the dorms are fully furnished), lots of little baskets and other decorative stuff. One girl had TEN boxes plus about 4 suitcases. I have no idea where she is going to fit all that! It made me extremely grateful that my son is a minimalist.

 

Thanks to all of you, I had a small bag ready with Clorox wipes and scissors to wipe things down a bit when we first came in and scissors to open boxes. We also threw our hand truck in the back of our car at the last minute, which was a huge help because we didn't have to wait and we took everything in one trip.

 

Two of my son's suite mates also moved in, so it was nice to meet their parents and the other boys. My son wanted help unpacking, so we stayed for a bit, but then took off when it was mostly done. DS was pretty anxious most of the day yesterday (he had a strangely late check-in time: 5:00 pm), but I think it was more "let's get going with this," than worry.

 

This morning, my house seems strangely quiet, even with my other three teenage boys still home - it is going to take some adjusting for all of us because my oldest has a big personality and my other 3 all really look up to him. It hasn't really hit me yet that this is my new reality - I feel like we just dropped him off at camp and he will be home in a week. But he's happy, and definitely in the right place for him. I'm excited to hear about the amazing things I know will come on his next great adventure.

Edited by Pink Tulip
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How about a moving out story? Not dd, but her next door suite mate, who shares a bathroom with her. She sent them all a text about 11 yesterday, they were all out and about, saying that some stuff had happened and she had to be closer to home until she saw a cardiologist! By the time the first suite mate returned about 1, she was gone. 

 

They have no idea if she is still in school and just not in the dorm, or what. She only lives about an hour away. Hopefully she updates with good news.

 

 

 

We're not moving into dorms, but we're in the process of moving. Ds and I are in the new house, 8 minutes from school instead of 40 miles! My mom is moving in this week. Between all the chaos we might get a few days of down time before school starts on the 29th. 

 

That will be well worth the current chaos! 

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I took my son to the new cadet week at Virginia Tech last week.  Flying from Hawaii to the mainland is quite an investment in time and money.  It made me very glad that he was able to skip the orientation earlier in the summer.

 

He had a very precise and concise packing list.  He had one big duffle bag and a backpack for computers.  The rest pretty much fit in two boxes and a bin.  

 

He was signed up for the very first move in time.  "Black shirt" cadets met us at the curb.  They started to carry things up to his room, while I parked.  DS was sent to check in.  They told me to go ahead and start unpacking.  There was so little to do that I ended up walking around the courtyard and meeting other cadet parents while I was waiting.  DS had bobbled ordering a wooden hutch for his desk, but I was able to buy an extra one from the vendor who was in the courtyard.

 

Neither ds nor  I realized that checking in was more than just having his name checked off on a clipboard.  He came back 2.5 hours later, with a giant canvas bag of uniforms and no hair.  

 

We were able to meet his roommate and his family and grab McDonalds before he had to report to cadre at 1pm for training.  I got a hug and that's the last I expect to see of him until Christmas.

 

During the afternoon there were a few briefs from senior staff of the cadet unit about how to support cadets during their first year.  Then we were able to see them do their first unit formation for evening colors before heading home.

 

Definitely a different experience.  We needed to buy a printer and some dishes and towels, but no dorm comforts or decorations. 

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I took my son to the new cadet week at Virginia Tech last week.  Flying from Hawaii to the mainland is quite an investment in time and money.  It made me very glad that he was able to skip the orientation earlier in the summer.

 

He had a very precise and concise packing list.  He had one big duffle bag and a backpack for computers.  The rest pretty much fit in two boxes and a bin.  

 

He was signed up for the very first move in time.  "Black shirt" cadets met us at the curb.  They started to carry things up to his room, while I parked.  DS was sent to check in.  They told me to go ahead and start unpacking.  There was so little to do that I ended up walking around the courtyard and meeting other cadet parents while I was waiting.  DS had bobbled ordering a wooden hutch for his desk, but I was able to buy an extra one from the vendor who was in the courtyard.

 

Neither ds nor  I realized that checking in was more than just having his name checked off on a clipboard.  He came back 2.5 hours later, with a giant canvas bag of uniforms and no hair.  

 

We were able to meet his roommate and his family and grab McDonalds before he had to report to cadre at 1pm for training.  I got a hug and that's the last I expect to see of him until Christmas.

 

During the afternoon there were a few briefs from senior staff of the cadet unit about how to support cadets during their first year.  Then we were able to see them do their first unit formation for evening colors before heading home.

 

Definitely a different experience.  We needed to buy a printer and some dishes and towels, but no dorm comforts or decorations. 

 

A very reminiscent story for some of us... not a whole lot has changed over the years (actually, a bit has, but not about move in).  I hope your son enjoys his time as much as hubby and I enjoyed ours!  Did your son luck out getting the new dorm?  The new one replaced ours (sniff, sniff).  It is nicer, but some of us were attached to the old...

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Move-in day for new students was Thursday, but the residence halls were open to new and returning students beginning last Sunday night (for a fee, of course *wry grin*). We figured arriving early would save us (emotionally) far more than it could ever cost us (financially), and we were right. Bliss to have the elevator to ourselves. More bliss to make a store run without bumping into the frantic parents of seven or eight thousand incoming freshman. The most bliss? Two parking spots right in front of their hall and, because we arrived early, no time limits. What a pleasure to make such a soft landing.

 

Our daughters requested that their beds be lofted in advance, and, boy, that was both time- and back-saving. They stacked their dressers on one side and created a small kitchen center on the other, then set up their desks and bookcases beneath the beds. All of the dĂƒÂ©cor, including matching quilts, framed posters, and an accent rug had been chosen in advance, so when we left, their room looked like a viewbook photo. *smile*

 

They had met folks to dine with an hour after moving in, and theyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ve been getting to know other people from their hall throughout the weekend.

 

They are both transfer students with junior standing, so while they are new to the university and to residence living, they feel pretty versed in Ă¢â‚¬Å“college stuff.Ă¢â‚¬ They had already done comparison-shopping on their texts, for example, and the few that they had to buy from the university bookstore were awaiting them on arrival. TheyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ve also been corresponding with advisers and assigned student and faculty mentors throughout the late spring and summer. Because they are more interested in the on-campus observatory, museums, laboratories, research park, and libraries than in the new football coach (although they conceded that seeing him was Ă¢â‚¬Å“pretty coolĂ¢â‚¬), a lot of the welcome week events are a little tedious to them, although both girls appreciated the orientation events hosted by their college (Liberal Arts and Sciences).

 

And now, a confession: WeĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ve already visited once.

 

No, no. Let me explain.

 

The shelving in their closets smelled like baby food and toddler barf. I know, gross, right? It took until morning of our departure to identify the precise source of the odor, but we found it. Shudder. We thought scrubbing the shelves would work, but, no. My husband said that it must be mold and mildew from decades of folks putting their damp shower caddies and towels on them. We said weĂ¢â‚¬â„¢d take care of it, loaded the removable boards into one of the cars, and hugged our babies goodbye.

 

Well.

 

Neither bleach nor three coats of odor-removing primer could eliminate the sickly smell, so we had new shelves made the evening after we returned home.* Early that morning, the girls had confided (after a great deal of questioning from me) that their new sheets seemed Ă¢â‚¬Å“stickyĂ¢â‚¬ and that the new blankets were, well, stinky. Ă¢â‚¬Å“Seriously?Ă¢â‚¬ I asked. As it turns out, they donĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t like microfiber sheets. They were the right color but the wrong Ă¢â‚¬Å“feel.Ă¢â‚¬ Chuckle. As for the blankets, well, unlike the sheets and towels, they had not gone through the washer and dryer after being purchased. (I smelled them when we returned this weekend, and, yes, they smell like feet soaked in chemicals. Shrug.) So, between paint coats, we ran bedding errands. And now our girls have fresh pine shelving in their closets and percale sheets and replacement blankets on their beds Ă¢â‚¬â€œ to say nothing of tiny plants for their window sill, even more food in their fridge and cupboard, new shirts I couldnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t resist because they were the university colors, and music books because there are grand pianos in their residence hall lounges and their playing attracted acquaintances even faster than their smiling greetings on move-in day.

 

 

* Yes, we could have called maintenance, but it was actually more expedient to do what we did. More, it is a problem in every room our daughters have visited, including the RA's. In fact, the second thing everyone who visits their room says is some version of, "It smells so good in here." I'm guessing maintenance has no intention of replacing the shelves in every closet, else they would have done so.

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We moved my son into his freshman dorm yesterday, about an hour away from home. He is my oldest, so this is a new experience for all of us. We spent the vast majority of the day before packing up all the things we had accumulated throughout the summer, and I was pretty worried that he had too much stuff: two suitcases, three boxes with kitchen and bathroom stuff (6 people in an apartment-style suite with a full kitchen), a box with a new printer, and a garbage bag with all his bedding.

 

Boy was I ever surprised to see the amount of stuff other people brought! DS had about a third of many people - it was actually pretty funny to see the huge piles that were stacked around many of the girls waiting for the helpers to come. They had big prints to hang on the wall - like 4'x3' prints, decorative lamps, one brought a coffee table (the dorms are fully furnished), lots of little baskets and other decorative stuff. One girl had TEN boxes plus about 4 suitcases. I have no idea where she is going to fit all that! It made me extremely grateful that my son is a minimalist.

 

Thanks to all of you, I had a small bag ready with Clorox wipes and scissors to wipe things down a bit when we first came in and scissors to open boxes. We also threw our hand truck in the back of our car at the last minute, which was a huge help because we didn't have to wait and we took everything in one trip.

 

Two of my son's suite mates also moved in, so it was nice to meet their parents and the other boys. My son wanted help unpacking, so we stayed for a bit, but then took off when it was mostly done. DS was pretty anxious most of the day yesterday (he had a strangely late check-in time: 5:00 pm), but I think it was more "let's get going with this," than worry.

 

This morning, my house seems strangely quiet, even with my other three teenage boys still home - it is going to take some adjusting for all of us because my oldest has a big personality and my other 3 all really look up to him. It hasn't really hit me yet that this is my new reality - I feel like we just dropped him off at camp and he will be home in a week. But he's happy, and definitely in the right place for him. I'm excited to hear about the amazing things I know will come on his next great adventure.

 

We had two moving in at the same time and had less that some of the other folks who chose to move in early. We're not minimalists, but we also try to avoid clutter, and our kids seemed to have picked up those tendencies.

 

And, yes, to the Chlorox wipes. And the vacuum. And the Febreze. We left a box of extra wipes, tissues, paper towels, and hangers for the girls to share with people arriving Thursday through Saturday -- another quick way to meet people in the dorm. *smile*

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I'm a VT alum, although I was not in the Corps. What I remember about that McDonalds was that it was a crazy pick-up joint. There was a good sub place right across from there. Oh, the memories. Good luck to your Hokie. I loved that place.

 

I took my son to the new cadet week at Virginia Tech last week. Flying from Hawaii to the mainland is quite an investment in time and money. It made me very glad that he was able to skip the orientation earlier in the summer.

 

He had a very precise and concise packing list. He had one big duffle bag and a backpack for computers. The rest pretty much fit in two boxes and a bin.

 

He was signed up for the very first move in time. "Black shirt" cadets met us at the curb. They started to carry things up to his room, while I parked. DS was sent to check in. They told me to go ahead and start unpacking. There was so little to do that I ended up walking around the courtyard and meeting other cadet parents while I was waiting. DS had bobbled ordering a wooden hutch for his desk, but I was able to buy an extra one from the vendor who was in the courtyard.

 

Neither ds nor I realized that checking in was more than just having his name checked off on a clipboard. He came back 2.5 hours later, with a giant canvas bag of uniforms and no hair.

 

We were able to meet his roommate and his family and grab McDonalds before he had to report to cadre at 1pm for training. I got a hug and that's the last I expect to see of him until Christmas.

 

During the afternoon there were a few briefs from senior staff of the cadet unit about how to support cadets during their first year. Then we were able to see them do their first unit formation for evening colors before heading home.

 

Definitely a different experience. We needed to buy a printer and some dishes and towels, but no dorm comforts or decorations.

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A very reminiscent story for some of us... not a whole lot has changed over the years (actually, a bit has, but not about move in).  I hope your son enjoys his time as much as hubby and I enjoyed ours!  Did your son luck out getting the new dorm?  The new one replaced ours (sniff, sniff).  It is nicer, but some of us were attached to the old...

 

He is still in one of the old dorms.  There is a possibility of moving to the next new dorm in the spring semester, but I've seen enough construction projects that I'm not holding my breath.

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He is still in one of the old dorms.  There is a possibility of moving to the next new dorm in the spring semester, but I've seen enough construction projects that I'm not holding my breath.

 

Another time when you visit you should check out Souvlaki's for authentic Greek or Mike's for the best burgers I've ever had (they have other things too like pizza if you don't care for burgers).  Both are very close to Upper Quad, so your guy should know where they are by the time you get back.  I'm sure Corps members will share the tidbits on good eating.  We saw Corps members at both when we visited back in Feb.

 

There are other decent restaurants around too, of course, some old and some new, but those are the two hubby and I choose when we're visiting for just a day or two.

Edited by creekland
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