I spent a few days with Miss E at Hofstra’s Family Weekend. We had lots of fun. Hofstra has such a beautiful campus, and fun mascots.
Hofstra has an Arboretum on campus with fun, unique trees and plants. They also have tons of statues on campus! I enjoyed exploring and seeing E’s favorite trees and statutes. <3
For all the lovely trees and greenery, Hofstra is actually in the suburbs, which also makes for some interesting photos.
There’s definitely not a lot of lonely time around here, despite the empty house. Last weekend Alan and I went down to WPI to watch Lex’s band performance. Joyce met us there. The game was awful, the sun was HOT, but the band was great! We had fun. Then we took Lex out to dinner at the Olive Garden, where he ate new food! LOL.
The next day Mema and G’Tom came to visit for a few days. We saw an AMAZING musical at Northern Stage, had brunch in a tasty diner, checked out the (very dry) gorge, and have a lovely time together.
A few days later, E came home for the weekend!! She flew into Burlington and Alan picked her up. She wanted a fall-fun weekend, so we’ve been watching Halloween movies, apple picking, pumpkin carving, and baking tasty goods.
Eve’s taking a photography course at school and she brought home a DSLR camera for the weekend. Her assignment is “lighting” so she’s been grabbing the camera for random shots. Of course, I had to take pictures of her taking pictures. I couldn’t resist. :) She’s heading back to school on Tuesday, and the boys are coming home on Friday! Whew! Who knew it would be so busy in my empty nest. LOL.
Dropped Lex off a few weeks ago. Dropped River off last weekend. Dropped Espen off yesterday! One, two, three!
River and I had a nice drive out to RIT last weekend. He’s living in the same dorm again this year, with the same roommate. Move-in was smooth and way less chaotic than his freshman year move in. We went out to dinner, then I left him at his dorm. He had some mixed feelings for the year, but was making plans with friends for the weekend and feeling ok.
I spent the night at Rosy’s house, then had a lovely lunch the next day with the family before heading back home.
This week we brought Espen to Hofstra for her freshman year. Alan came down Wednesday morning and we packed up three cars — two to go all the way to Hofstra and one to go midway, just to WPI.
We met up with Lex and had an early dinner. It was nice to connect with him after a few weeks of school. Things are going pretty well and he seems happy. E, on the other hand, was quiet and withdrawn. Clearly the nerves were creeping in.
We said our goodbyes to Lex, then kept heading south. E slept for a bit in the car, but when she woke up we had a really nice chat about college. Same stuff we’ve talked about before, but she seemed receptive to it this time. We got in to the hotel pretty late, but ordered some food and snuggled (as best we could) on the hotel couch to watch some tv.
She didn’t end up sleeping well that night and wasn’t able to wake up early to draw, as she had been hoping to do. We met Alan at a diner for breakfast and E was once again quiet and withdrawn, barely touching her amazing waffle! (Don’t worry, Alan and I took care of it. LOL) On the short drive from there to campus she expressed frustration at not having had a chance to draw in the morning and worried that it would be “forever” until she had a chance to draw again. I told her she had to let it go and move on if she had any hope of having a good day. Meanwhile, I mentally braced myself for a “crash out” or anxiety attack. I was dreading how we would get her moved into her new dorm in that condition.
However, when we turned the corner and drove onto campus we were met with upper grade students in yellow t-shirts jumping up and down, holding signs saying “Welcome Home!”, cheering, shouting, celebrating the incoming students. A smile appeared on her face. We saw Kate and Willie (the mascots) in the group. She laughed. By the time we parked the car, she was grinning and chatty again. When we got out and crossed the street, I asked if we could take a picture with the mascots and she said, “Sure!” So we did.
She was chatty with all the people at the check-in tables. One lady who works there was excited to see her, even said she had been waiting to see King Gerald back on campus! Eve wasn’t even carrying KG at that point, so the lady just recognized E without the shark. :)
When her move- in time came, we drove over to the dorm. Everyone was so nice and so organized. The athletes (all those kids in yellow shirts) were tasked with helping kids unload and move in, so the process went quickly. Espen met her RAs, got her room key, and we got her moved in. She has a suite with two 2-person rooms, a common area, and a shared bath. Her roommate is artsy and quirky. The roommate’s mom actually works at Hofstra! We didn’t chat much with the two girls in the other room, but E had been chatting with them on social media beforehand and was comfortable with them.
After she was mostly unpacked, we took a walk over to the student center to get a car magnet for Alan. We had a little extra time before E’s first “required activity”, so we stopped by the library. She had been hoping to get a job there, but nothing was posted. She emailed the dean a few weeks ago, but (I think) got only a fairly generic response. This time the person at the desk sent us up to the dean’s office to sign up for a work-study position. Apparently they maintain a list of interested people, then once all the kids are back on campus they give first dibs to kids who worked there last year, and then anything left goes to new kids. E filled out the interest form, then the dean actually came out of her office and started talking with us. She brought out the assistant dean too. They were talking about an new AI archiving project they are starting and looking for students with a little tech confidence. Espen apparently knocked their socks off! The dean made a little note by her name, and today E got an email asking if she wanted to stop by on Tuesday to complete new-hire paperwork and get started working! She’s thrilled!
E had a mandatory meeting at 3pm, so we said our goodbyes in the parking lot shortly before that. I was holding my breath all day, waiting for the emotional break down, but it never came! She gave us both big hugs and went off to meet her Welcome Week leader. No tears. No lingering delays. No doubts or hesitations. Just hugs and off she went! I held it together until she walked away, then I cried on Alan’s chest for a few minutes. Not because she was leaving, but because I spent the day emotionally ready to catch her, but she never needed it. She rocked her day!
It was a long drive home, and I peeked at my phone each time she texted me. Still waiting for the break down. Not sure if that says more about me or about her. LOL. However, all of her texts were cheery and positive. She meet her Welcome Week leader, went to the University President’s welcome thing, did some other stuff I don’t even know, They had a late night breakfast that she went to. She spent the afternoon with her roommate. She carried King Gerald around and handed out loads of pins. She even said, “Also gerald might have gotten me a dnd group.” She had fun. Life is good.
I got home late and went to bed even later, but my heart was happy! I posted a thank you message on the Hofstra FB page and by this morning had over 100 “likes” and a ton of comments, all agreeing with my comments about how welcoming and energetic the campus was on move in day. I think that positive energy made all the difference in her day!
I got texts from her today, throughout the day. She did some stuff, heard back from the library, went shopping with her suitemates (her roomie has a car!), and went to a late night trivia event at the library! The texts so far have all been positive. She even signed up for their “Explore Next Door” program and will be going to NYC tomorrow to visit the science museum!
I know this honeymoon phase won’t last forever, and struggles will come eventually, but for now I am overjoyed and immensely relieved that her first few days in college have been positive. She has roommates that are artsy and quirky and accepting. She has a job she’s excited about. She has classes she’s excited about. She likes her room setup and says “the vibes are peak.”
As I adjust to my own new life in this empty nest, I am at peace knowing that all three kids are happy at their colleges, making friends, getting involved, and growing into amazing adults. Now if I could just train Huxley to not bark out the window! LOL.
We spent last week in lovely Long Island for Espen’s college orientation. Student orientation was Tuesday-Thursday, with a parent orientation on Tuesday morning. We drove down Monday night and met Alan at the hotel. The next morning we dropped E off at her dorm for the week. It was a rough start. They didn’t let parents into the building (which was known from the start) but she couldn’t carry all her stuff, so they sent her in to check in while I waited outside with her stuff. I stood there in the hot sun, watching people come and go, waiting for Espen to come back. Meanwhile some other mother walked right in and another asked about bathrooms and was sent inside. I was super annoyed. After like 15 minutes Alan got there and I had to explain it all to him. I asked one of the orientation leaders to go check on her. She came out a few minutes later, on the verge of a panic attack. Said she didn’t know where to go. Didn’t know how to carry everything. I gave her big hugs, piled her stuff on her, and sent her back in. Tears were shed. Alan and I headed to the parent orientation. Awhile later she texted and said she figured out where to go. A bit after that “Gerald” posted a pretty positive post on Instagram. I sighed a huge sigh of relief.
I spent the afternoon exploring a GIANT mall. Biggest one I’ve seen in a long time. It was expensive and exhausting. LOL. I spent the next day working at the hotel. I ended up with a two-room suite, which worked out well for the whole “work from home” thing. I had a desk and plenty of room in the fridge for snacks and beverages. Then I spent a few hours exploring IKEA :)
Thursday I picked up E around lunch time. We took a quick trip to the campus bookstore, then headed back to the IKEA! LOL. We got lunch there and bought some fun little things for the house and dorms. We had a long, whimsical drive home.
I love spending time with my girlie. She’s the best. <3 I’m gonna miss her next year.
I’m hanging out in Long Island for college stuff, but apparently I haven’t posted high school graduation stuff yet. Life is busy!
Last month sweet baby Eve graduated high school. Not sure how she went from a cuddly baldy to a high school graduate, but here we are. She graduated with honors, excellent grades, a solid friend group, and a plan for the future.
We had a beautiful evening for graduation. We hosted a party afterwards, that was a lot of fun, if you ignore the fact that it was very dark! I thought of everything except the fact that the sun would go down! LOL. We had fun anyway!
The next day we celebrated Mema’s birthday at the lake. :)
Happy Birthday to Mema! Happy Graduation to E! Happy summer to all! :)
The weeks leading up to graduation have been tumultuous for Miss E. She’s got all the feeling swirling inside (and sometimes outside), like many other seniors at this time of year. Her senior trip was rocky, senior “skip day” was chaotic, and the boys are home getting in her space. She’s excited to be done with high school, scared to move on, worried her friends don’t like her, worries she’s going to miss all her friends, etc. Anyone who’s ever graduated from high school has probably had these feelings. We also have several busy weekends coming up, so last weekend E and I took a little road trip.
Road Trip
We started with a quick No Kings protest, which was packed!! After doing our part as good citizens, we spent the rest of the day in the hinterlands of Vermont, enjoying the sunshine and lush scenery.
Visiting the Haskell Free Library in Derby, VT has been on our bucket list for a few years now. The Haskell library sits on the US/Canada border and has been in the news a lot lately. It’s a beautiful library and we were excited to visit. Apparently author Louse Penny lives nearby and her next book takes place, in part, in the Haskell library! Unfortunately we got there exactly at 4pm which is when they closed. :( We enjoyed the exterior anyway. It is beautiful and interesting to be so close to the border. We waved at a group of Canadians across the bolder line. :)
Then we had some sweet Sunday driving through the rolling hills, stopping only to charge up the car and our bellies, and headed to the Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, an outdoor sculpture park…. which closed hours before we actually got there. We got a great picture of the entrance sign though. :)
We thought about maybe sneaking in and checking out the sculptures anyway, but turns out its actually on a hill behind someone’s house, so we decided to be good and move on. We stopped for dinner and more charging, then drove home under a pink sunset.
We had a great day, she felt much better (nothing fills her bucket like car time with mom), and we fully intend to return another day… maybe a little earlier in the day. :)
Award Night
The following day we attended Senior Awards Night where we clapped for over two hours for kids we know and love and kids we’ve never even heard of before. It was a long ceremony, but E got a few awards (for science and good grades) and some grant money, and I got to chat with some old friends, so we considered it a good night all around.
Next up — graduation!
Things are busy around here these days.
My tiny baby boy entered a new decade last week! Years ago my grandpa made a comment about how we take so many more pictures of babies than of older people. That came back to me just now as I realized I only took two pictures of Lex on his 20th birthday, but probably a hundred on the actual day of his birth!
The weekend before, E and her friends went to Senior Prom. They took photos at the Powerhouse, had dinner at Panera, survived torrential rain to get there, then danced their hearts out at the Marriott.
We also attended the FRC wrap party on a recent weekend. E and her teammates designed trophies for the coaches and we 3D printed them. We had fun at the party and everyone enjoyed the awards.
I’m currently home alone, getting a tiny taste of the upcoming year. Lex and E drove to Worcester together to meet with Lex’s roommates and landlord for next year. They planned the trip, including extra time for whimsey, and seem to be having a great trip. They’ll be home soon. E sent me some photos while Lex and his roomies made plans. I can’t wait for the full update when they get home!
R spent the day sleeping, waking up at 4pm when I woke him!, then headed out to spend the evening with friends. I’ve been alone with the cat and dog for company.
We are skewing towards calm around here, but the chaos still rears up… usually around midnight! And I love it. <3
We had an exciting weekend in Long Island recently. Eve and I drove down late Thursday night, met up with Rosy, then spent Friday at Hofstra University for an Admitted Students Day. We talked to a bunch of people at the resource fair, met Kate (one of the mascots), had lunch in the dining hall, and got a personal tour of the dorms. The dorms are awesome! We’ve visited a lot of dorms over the past few years and these are by far the best!
We had a fun moment while we waited for our dorm tour guide to arrive. We were standing at the welcome table with several “Pride Guides” (student tour guides) around. One of them asked Eve if we’ve been there before because she recognized King Gerald! She was excited to hear that it was the same shark! She told us she actually has the King Gerald pin on her bulletin board! She brought a bunch of her friends and they all oohed and aahed over sharks, Gerald, and E’s artwork.
After we got done on campus we drove down to Jones Beach to dip our toes in the Atlantic. It was super windy and cold though, so it was a very brief visit, but fun nonetheless.
Then we did a little shopping and headed back to the hotel. Rosy and Eve were going to go swimming in the hotel pool, but everyone was tired so we rested for a bit first. Eve was restless and grumpy a bit, until she finally said “Would it be wild and crazy of me to just make a decision now?” I laughed and reminded her that deposits are due in two weeks so she’s going to have to make a decision soon! She said “I’m just going to go to Hofstra.” We snuggled up in her bed and used her phone to accept the offer and put down our deposit. Afterwards she was full of energy and happily went swimming with Rosy.
The next day we took the LIRR into the city to visit the NYC Aquarium. It took us three trains and lots of time to get there because it’s on Coney Island, and the weather was wet and drizzly the whole time, but it was well worth the trip! We saw a sea lion performance, otters, fish, and sharks! Eve was thrilled!
When then went back to Times Square and braved the elements to get some dinner and make it to our show. Rosy wanted a diner and we ended up at the Westway Diner, which apparently is where Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld first came up with the idea for Seinfeld. Who knew?! It was pretty tasty diner food. :)
We rounded out our adventure with tickets to Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern, an interactive Dungeons & Dragons production at Studio 42. It was a ton of fun and absolutely hysterical. You use your phone for the interactivity part and they said photography is welcome, so we took some pictures! On the LIRR on the way back to the hotel, E posted a picture from the show and tagged the guy. Much to her surprise, he reposted it on his account! They ended up having a friendly back and forth for a little while. She loved it.
Sunday we said goodbye to Rosy over waffles then headed home. Eve wanted to take the ferry so we did a little exploration in Port Jeff while we waited for the ferry. Eve and I are very slow travelers, in a most whimsical way, so we got home late on Sunday, but it was a great weekend. Alan babysat Huxley for us and provided excellent pick-up and delivery service.
Now that Eve has made this big decision, we move on to the next thing….
I’m a little behind on the postings, but I can’t miss this big one! The last of my babies turned 18. We’re all grown-ups around here now! Kinda. LOL.
We celebrated with robotics, painting, muppets, and sushi. I took the birthday squad out for pottery painting and dinner. I thought we could go to a restaurant, but after much discussion they decided to get sushi take out and watch the Muppet Movie at home. They were all wound up after painting, so I drove to the local park and kicked them out to run around for a bit while we waited for our sushi order to be ready. They maybe be growing up, but they are still the goofy kids I know and love. <3
I felt like this year I got a bonus year of FIRST Robotics! Lex joined in 9th grade, R joined a year later, and E joined this year! She was a little up and down all season, but she stuck with it, had some new experiences, discovered some new skills, and formed some new friendships.
The team went to three events, as usual, but two of them were new events, one in Maine and the other in Vermont. Vermont’s first FRC event! Grasshoppers had to represent!
The UVM event had a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream robot! Alan and I went up to spend the day with E on the last day. Our ice cream robot picture was photo bombed by the guy who took Eve’s senior pictures. He takes a lot of sports photography for the school and other events. He was there photographing a sporting event at UVM and stopped by to get a few pics of robotics too. :)
It was really cool to see how important she is on this team. The coaches were frequently asking for her input and advice on alliance selection and other teams. She helped with organization and was the brave one who led the alliance selection team at each event.
For the district championship Alan, Lex, and I all went down to spend the final day with Eve. Districts is a bigger, longer event and Eve rocked it the whole time. She made it her goal to collect swag from every single team (she made a spreadsheet!) and wore the swag the whole time. There was a Star Wars group there (not sure if they were a team or something else), so there were R2s and Storm Troopers and other Star Wars characters wandering around the event.
Despite the fact that she complained about practices, dreaded going to events, and fussed a lot, she ended each event on a total high and made lots of friends. The coaches and freshman boys love her. She spent the whole drive home from the final event sad that the season was over and thinking of ways she (we) could continue to be involved in the future. :)
One way may be to continue making buttons for the team and maintaining the teams website. I’ve been doing it for the past few years and Eve took over this year. In the past the team had a tradition of giving away Keebler Grasshopper cookies to the other teams, judged, volunteers, etc after each event. Sadly Keebler stopped making those cookies (or changed something, I forget) and one coach decided to make cookies instead. She asked for volunteers to help, so of course I volunteered!
The season is now over. They had their “unpack the truck” meeting tonight. There will be a few other “off-season” and recruiting events over the summer. Eve is excited for all of them. I’m excited that she found something she enjoys, people who respect here, and, I got an extra year of robotics fun! Yay!