Move In Day #3

With a 12 hour drive down to Georgia staring us in the face, we woke up last Wednesday morning at 5 am, hoping to beat the traffic around Washington DC.  We had packed everything the night before, and we were on our way south by 5:30 in the morning.  Traffic was heavy, but it was still moving along at that time of the morning. 

We crossed the Potomac River at 6:30.  In the picture on the right, you can see the cranes working on new construction at National Harbor, just as the sun is beginning to peek over the horizon.  In spite of the very early hour, the crews were already at work, and the cranes were moving things around as we passed by.  We were hoping to make it down to my Mom's house a little after 7.  She lives south of Washington and north of Richmond, and we were hoping to have some breakfast with her while we waited out the Richmond morning traffic.

We stopped at a couple of Starbucks for caffeination on the way down.  Don't you love the bike racks out front?  I love how Starbucks goes about finding ways to support artists and keep them in business.  You and I see a cute sculpture.  A working artist sees this as a commission that will go towards paying the rent, and will keep them in business.  It's funny weird when you think of it that way, isn't it?    

Finally, we arrived in Georgia.  I love the tree lined streets here, and the moss covered trees.  I wouldn't want to live here, mind you.  The humidity is freaking horrible, and I would melt.  Literally.  Since the humidity is so high, there is no place for your sweat to go.  It just stays on you.  The day we got down there, the temperature was over 90, and so was the humidity.  Oh yeah, now I remember why there's a demarcation line that I will NEVER move south of - the North/South Carolina border!  Did I mention the bugs?  The south has some pretty serious bugs.  They don't get killed off by the frosts down there.  Another reason I live in Maryland.  It's nice to be reminded of these things once in a while!

We moved daughter into her dorm.  These dorms were originally an old motel, and they have been converted into college dorm rooms.  So, if you think of an old motel filled with 2 double beds and room to walk around, and then take out the motel furniture, you've actually got a pretty spacious room!  When we walked into the room, husband and I were pacing it out.  We both lived in the old dorms at Virginia Tech, and my dorm room,  fronting the drillfield was smaller than his.  Even so, her room, shared with one other person is the same size as 4 of the dorm rooms in my old building.  Am I jealous?  Ummm.... yes..    The hallways are hallways - nothing exciting going on there.  Since every room has it's own bathroom, every floor is coed by room.  Very different experience from when we went to school!  Girls dorms and boys dorms back then!  Not even co-ed by floor!  The picture below shows the area around her drafting table and dresser.  There's room for a really big area rug on the floor - and her bed is on the other side of the room.

Funny story here - when we were moving daughter in,
we noticed a young man trying to shove a wheeled cart into one of the doors, even though there was stuff hanging out of the right side of the cart, he kept pushing and pushing the cart into the door and it kept bouncing back.  I looked at husband and muttered "Art School NOT Engineering School".  We assume that young man is not going into sculpture or architecture....

Lastly, this tower of books in the book store really caught my eye.  All of these books are withdrawn library books from the local public library.  They are old volumes of U.S. Laws.  I know that these were added to the online collection at the Law Library of Congress not all that long ago.  I'm just really glad to know that the books still exist, and that they are being treated as the works of art that they are.  The information contained inside of them is still valuable - and in this installation, it might not be immediately accessible, but it is available.  (Librarian rant.  I'll expand upon this at some future point.)

Husband and I left on Saturday afternoon and began the long drive home.  We stopped on the road Saturday night and then got home on yesterday afternoon in time to watch the Ravens lose.


Her classes start today!  Here's hoping to a fantastic semester for her and all of the class of 2019 - wherever they may be!

Move In Day #2

The van, loaded for delivery #2.

We began our morning at 7 am.  We had loaded the car with everything except electronics the night before.  I woke the kids up at 6, and we were on the road at 7 am.  We got there well before check in time began.  The University had blocked off the entrance to the dorms & on campus apartments, so we sat in the line of parents who were waiting for the official opening.  We were #3 in line.  Promptly at 9 am, the blockade was lifted, and the police motioned us through. 

View to the bedrooms from the living room.

Middle Child and his friends are living in an on campus apartment this year.  The boys are on the first floor - which made move in a breeze for us!  We unloaded all of his stuff in front of the apartments while he checked in, and daughter stood guard while I moved the car to the "designated family parking lot".  By the time I got back (1 mile walk....) son had checked in and begun moving stuff into his room one armload at a time.  I took over being the guard human while he and daughter hauled the rest of the stuff into his apartment. 

Middle Child's room

Each boy has their own bedroom.  It's a tiny little space - not that much bigger than the bed and the desk.  The dresser is inside of the closet.  How much space does one boy need if it's all his?  If you look out his window, you can see the line of cars outside.  That white van didn't move at all in the hour we were unpacking the stuff and putting it away.  When we left, we saw a tow truck backing up to one of the three cars that were parked, blocking the roadway.  I'm so very, very glad that we were there early and unloaded that car before the hordes arrived!

The kitchen/dining room combo.  THAT's a teeny-tiny kitchen!

The view from the back wall by the refrigerator out to the front door.

You know, for on campus living, this space is decent.  The boys are happy to have the kitchen, but they are planning on eating in the dining hall.  The kitchen is a little too small to do a lot of cooking, but they are planning on cooking breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

While daughter is not going to this school, she has a lot of friends who are starting their freshman year at this school.  They moved in on Saturday.  She met up with them at the student center and they sat and chatted for a while after she finished helping with her brother.  

Once the other boys began to arrive and move their stuff in, I joined daughter and her friends at the student center and asked how their "Freshman Experience" went for them.

Daughter and I were back home in the Burg by 1, and she spent the afternoon with her boyfriend.  (He's moving into college on Thursday.) 

You know, I'm not sure how I'm dealing with all of our little chicks leaving the nest thing.  I keep saying it's going well, but it's a lot of change.

Move In Day

Today was move in day at college for middle child.

We came home from the West Coast last night.  After several glitches which I will describe another day, we finally arrived home last night at 10:30. 

A very quick night's sleep, and we were up again this morning at 7 am. 

Fortunately, middle child had packed everything up before we left on vacation.  Once we were all up and dressed, we pulled all of our suitcases out of the van and then put all of his boxes and clothes into the van.

Unlike many schools, only the freshman moved in today.  Everyone else will move in on Monday.
The school held the cars at the traffic control point, and then would let a car through as another car pulled out, and you were directed to the open parking space.  20 minute unloading is strictly enforced in front of the dorms.  While middle child was checking into his dorm, we unloaded the van under a tree, and then I sat and waited with his stuff while DH moved the van to the designated long term parking area.  As ungainly as this system seems, we only waited 10 minutes to be directed to a space directly in front of son's dorm room.

Moving his stuff in, unpacking, and making his bed took us another 20 minutes.

After he was settled into his room, we went and bought his books.  Fortunately, he is going to the same school as oldest child, and majoring in the same field.  (Mathematics).  We rented many of his textbooks, and oldest child is loaning him a couple of textbooks that he had held onto.

We ate lunch in the dining hall with him, and then waved good-bye and took off. 

One of my cousins texted me this afternoon and asked if leaving him at school and taking off was terribly hard.

"Not really," I replied.  "I think we were both relieved when he was moved in and his uncertainty is over.  He is in his dorm room, and he is happily settled into his new situation."

I know when I went to college, I was relieved when my mother decided that she was done and took off.  It felt like the first time in months that I had been able to relax, and it was the first time I'd ever been able to make my own decisions.  It was an empowering moment for me!

For all of the parents who are sending kids off to college for the first time, or for the third time, I wish all of you lots of peace, lots of happiness, and joy.  Joy for what is to come, and joy for the new challenges all of us are facing- both our kids, and us - who are facing the challenge of empty, or at least smaller, nests.