Saturday, August 29, 2009

Girlfriends

During the four years that Amy was in high school marching band, there were several other moms that I got friendly with. I got to know some of them better by sitting with them in the stands for hours on end, some by standing side by side as we served food to 120 kids, some by the selling of various products for fundraisers, and some of them by a combination of ALL of those things! Most of the ladies that I got to know the best had kids that were either in my daughter's class or the class right ahead of hers. We were all going through the same struggles and triumphs with our kids; who had so-and-so for a teacher, who was dating who, what colleges did they apply to?

Two of the moms and I are becoming fast friends. We have gone to the movies and out to dinner, and I see one of them almost every day now that we have coordinated our gym time to ride the monotonous stationary bikes at the same time (it's amazing how much faster the time goes when you can just chat with a friend). But I wanted to make sure that I would somehow keep in touch with these other women. They mean something to me and so do their kids, many of whom I have known since grade school.

I had a feeling that all of us were going to be needing other moms to talk to soon as all of us had moved our kids in to various colleges within the last two weeks. So I invited 15 of these ladies over for a night of bunco and all but three of them were able to come. Guys? We had a blast!

We started off having some appetizers (way too many!) and some sangria and just talking about our experiences with our girls (and boy) and how they were adjusting to college life. It was so awesome to hear the stories and know that each and every one of them are going through the same sorts of things that my daughter is going through. I think every one of us was so grateful to hear that other kids were having some of the same struggles that our own kids are facing. And the conversation has changed a little bit from when the kids were in high school, but as I listened in on the stories, we all were asking the same questions. How is the roommate situation? Are the classes hard? Are they making new friends or hanging out with kids from high school? It was so good to not feel alone.

And then we played bunco! Some of us (like me!) had never played before and some had played a time or two and were able to help out with the first couple of rounds. We had such a good time talking, laughing, zinging each other in friendly competition. And drinking sangria. Lots of sangria.

I think everyone said that they would definitely want to get together on a monthly basis and play! So we are all set for September already and I am so looking forward to hearing from everyone again and finding out if M got a new roommate, if H is still feeling sad, if H2 is making more friends, if they have all escaped the H1N1 flu. And I look forward to hearing how we, as moms, are adjusting. Are WE feeling more confident, are WE adjusting to buying fewer groceries and doing more of our own chores around the house? And most of all, I look forward to laughing with my friends over three dice. And drinking sangria.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

And She's Off!

August 23rd? For REAL? What a crazy couple of months it has been. Work has been fairly busy and getting Amy ready for college was hectic too. And now fall is almost here. But you won't hear ME complaining about that! I LOVE FALL!

Anyway, the last few weeks have been spent making Target runs, setting up new technology, making Target runs, bra shopping, school supply shopping, and going back to Target for just one more thing. As if they don't have a Target anywhere but here. But the shopping is now done. At least for me.

Last Monday we took Amy off to school. The kids who are in marching band had to move in on the 17th instead of the 20th. Which is kinda cool because I understand we avoided all sorts of crowds by moving in three days earlier than the rest of campus.

The Plan: spend Sunday night at a hotel near campus so we can get an early start at 8:00, start moving in, Amy to run off at 9:00 to get registered for band and back at dorm by 10:00. Unpack from 10 to 11:30. Say our goodbyes in the dorm room. Amy to go to lunch with new band friends and report to the field at 12:30. Mom and Dad stay back to unpack a bit and then drive back home. Doesn't that sound nice? Carefree? Not too stressful?

Reality: spend Sunday night at a hotel near campus and got our early start about 8:15, fill out paperwork and pick up keys, locate room and hotel style baggage cart (good job with these, CSU! you have done this a time or two!) and start moving things into room. Rearrange furniture to Amy's liking. Start unpacking. Realize that bookcase is not going to fit. Start hanging up clothes to go in closet (that incidentally does NOT look like the one in the pictures and has a hanging bar at waist level. WTF?) and realize we don't have enough hangers.

Amy starts texting her friend at 9:15. Where are you? Friend won't be there to pick her up until 10. Keep unpacking. Ask Amy if maybe we should say our goodbyes then since it's going to be hectic. No, she will definitely be back at the dorm by 11:45. Off she goes to register. Dad does a Target run to get a shower caddy that will work, some shelves and some plastic drawers (refer back to the closet not being like the ones we had been shown). Mom keeps unpacking. Mom does a lot of wondering. "Where will this fit? Why did she bring this? For REAL?" Stuff like that.

Mom gets text that says Amy is still standing in line for a uniform. And several more during the next hour that are along the same vein. At 12:15 mom gets an actual phone CALL (you know it's bad when I get a call instead of a text) that says there is no way Amy is going to make it back to the dorm before she has to report to the field and can we please bring her her tennis shoes, a water bottle, something to eat since she didn't get lunch? And do all that and be across campus in less than 10 minutes so she's not late? Find all the above mentioned items including a slightly bruised banana that I'm so glad I didn't have time to eat, and fly out to the car. Drive down street with no outlet. Turn around. Wait in traffic. Drive to the UCA building but take two detours because of street construction. Find parking lot but no spaces and park in the fire lane. Run as fast as my knee will let me to where she is waiting (with a high school friend and her parents - thanks, Caroline and Rick for waiting with her). Hand her her things and give her a huge hug. Try to calm her, as she is frustrated, mad and sad. Hug her some more, kiss her head a million times, wipe away tears (hers and mine) and off she goes.

I like the PLAN version better. Although the dramatic movie version of reality makes for a better story. I'm sure I will find clever ways to embellish it over the years. :)

We spoke on the phone yesterday though and, while Monday and Tuesday were kinda rough, she is having a good time and meeting lots of new people. Classes start tomorrow and I know she's a little nervous about that but it will be FINE!

We have a mother/daughter blog in the works and I'll link here when we get our first post up. I hope we're as funny in print as we are think we are in real life.