Faster than the Speed of Light

Here's a quick change for you.  Nine days ago we were attending my son's high school graduation and today I am with him at the university of his choice for freshman orientation.  There wasn't even time to bask in the glow of his and my achievement.  Him for graduating high school, me for graduating my fourth and last homeschooler from high school.

We barely finished eating the graduation cake.

(This is me being bored, but older and more wrinkles ) Image source 

I'm not sure what to expect from this two-day event, which I confess I didn't want to attend.  I suspect there is yet another campus tour involved, yet another lecture on letting go (I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready to empty the nest), yet another discussion on paying for college  (did someone mention loans?), yet another explanation of meal plans, and so on.

Perhaps they'll surprise us clinging parents with some heretofore unexpected piece of information that will have made two days of sitting and listening to lectures worthwhile.  Or maybe this is just a reminder of what college feels like, sitting for looong periods of time listening to lectures.

One son asked, "Are you bringing your Kindle?"

And another son asked, "Are you bringing your Kindle?"  Do these men know me or what?

I'll let you know if there are any surprises.

And I have to confess that while my son is experiencing for one night (yet again) "what it is like to live in a dorm" I am looking forward to an evening in the hotel all by myself.  With my Kindle.

Celebrating the Transitions

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In the space of 22 days I will have attended a wedding, an 18th birthday celebration, a graduation ceremony (maybe two), a final band concert, a church picnic honoring graduates, a graduation dinner, a cookout and four graduation parties.

How much fun can one woman handle?

Hoo boy it's a busy time (not to mention expensive!) but milestones should be celebrated.  It's important to reflect on where we've been and how far we've come.  Because our lives are full of so much stuff and busyness and time goes so quickly, our celebrations force us to pause and remind us to commemorate the meaningful, significant and special events that occur in a life.

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I have a few days to rest and catch up before the next round of good times start up this weekend. Maybe I'll even have time to weed the garden.

What are you celebrating?

Will This NEVER End?

It feels like my 17-year-old son has been applying for college for about 23 years.

When did this process become so hard?  And how?  And why?  This kid hopes to go to college in the autumn.  Will all the paperwork be finished by then?

I was talking to some women recently about how arduous the process seems to be and asked them if they remember it being so difficult when they were high school seniors.

Granted, we all graduated from college in the last century, but we're middle-aged not from the middle ages.  We remember that we applied, were accepted or not, let the university know we were coming, and off we went.

My son has applied to four schools and has been accepted by one, so far.  He will hear from the others in April.  By the last count, we figure that he has written at least 12 application essays.  He filled out something called the Common Application last fall which is intended to be a time-saving form for students applying to more than one college.  It must be fairly new, since he has three older siblings and we've never encountered it before.

And while, in theory, this application is supposed to save a student time and standardize the application process, it's ended up being essay-hell.

The Common Ap required two essays, okay, fine, makes sense.  But then each school required at least two additional essays, another required an honors program application essay, and then there was the music program application essay and he still has three more colleges to hear from.

Will it ever end?

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