Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

That's supposed to be part of a song.  Do you recognize it?  Even if you don't, it sums up what's coming up for us.

Middle Child graduated in May.  He spent one last summer working as the head life guard and aquatics director while he searched for employment.  He put out applications.  He went on interviews.  He went on second interviews.  And he never heard back from anyone.

He widened his search area.  He had someone look at his resume and cover letter.  He had more interviews.  He had second interviews.  And he never heard back from anyone.

I tell you, if I hadn't spent a good 6 months looking for a new job last year, I would have thought he was blowing smoke up my ass about how many job applications he had put out.  In the first six months of 2016, I put out over 150 applications, went on multiple first and second interviews, and NEVER HEARD BACK FROM ANYONE.  And I have experience. 

Middle Child has been applying for jobs since September of 2016.

In October, he finally heard back from an employer who was interested.  They had a second interview with him.  They followed up on the interview.  They asked him to fill out some paperwork.  They continued to follow up with him as he provided paperwork and did another set of interviews.

He was offered a job two weeks ago, which he accepted.  HOORAY!

The problem is, the job is in Kansas.  Kansas City, to be exact.

That's a long way from here, Dorothy.

Make no mistake - I am thrilled for him, and excited he has a job that he is so excited about.  I am happy that he has found meaningful work in his chosen field.  But why does it have to be halfway across the country?

He is out there with his Dad this week, looking for a place to live.  They're going to check out the area, and scout out walkability and churches and everything else you need to know about when you move to a new area.   He starts his new job the fist week in January.  We'll be moving him out the last week in December.

God, I am going to miss that kid!  I know he'll do great, but I am going to miss having him so close!

University of Virginia

Last week, we visited several potential graduate schools with middle child.  Since we were roaming through the Mid-Atlantic Region, we decided that we would swing by the University of Virginia.   I've always loved the UVA campus.  It's beautiful, and the school is beyond compare.  I wish that they'd had the programs I was searching for when I went off to college. 

This gorgeous school was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.  It was intended to be an Academic Village.  In the picture below, you see the Rotunda.  It was (and still is a part of) the library.  Down in front, you see the lawn, and on the left and right sides of the lawn, there are the original rooms and the classrooms.  The individual rooms are very nice - they are single occupancy.  Each has a fireplace, and the original stone work.  And no indoor plumbing.  Think on that for a while.  It wouldn't even have been considered necessary 100 years ago.  Today, the residents go outside, down the stairs, and around back to access the bathrooms.  Think about that trek when it's snowing, cold, and icy.

When my sister graduated from UVa, the ceremony was held here, on the lawn.  We sat with our backs facing the Rotunda, and the speaker was downhill - at the other end of the lawn.  I know she absolutely loved her time in school, and had hopes that her kids would go to school there.

Is middle child considering attending the University for graduate school?  Who knows?  He's trying to decide whether to enter the work world or go to graduate school.  He must make that decision soon - applications are due by the end of the year (November, I think.) and GRE's and subject area tests need to be taken before then in order to be considered for admission.

I'm enjoying the continuing tour of college campuses.  Daughter has yet to apply, too.  She'll be graduating from the community college next spring, and she needs to have her transfer applications in by the end of this year, too.  You can never see enough college campuses.. never!  

The Rotunda.

The Ampitheater.  It was 70* when we were here.  Students were sitting all over the ampitheater, studying.

The library - part of the admissions tour, so I didn't get a good chance to take a lot of pictures.

The reading room in the main library.

Getting Ready for Graduation

This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all! 

My middle child is getting ready for High School Graduation in a month.

It's hard to believe that so much time has passed.  It seems like only yesterday I was tracking down birth certificates, residence requirements, and shot records to register him for kindergarten.

When I think back over the trials and successes of the last 12 years, I can't believe how much we've been through.  The struggles with learning to read.  The frustrations he had when his school curriculum wasn't challenging enough, and the joy we experienced when we finally found teachers and schools who pushed him - and kept pushing him- until he finally found the thrill and joy of learning, and began to push himself to do more. 

I look back fondly on the last four years of high school, and I am so thankful for a staff that has allowed him to reach, stretch, grow, and try new things.  I've watched him become a self-confident young man with plans and dreams for his future that include earning a PhD.  He's come a long way for a child who didn't learn how to read until he was almost 9.

I've been working on his graduation paper work today.  Lots and lots of paperwork.  I think I'm tracking down almost as much paperwork now as I did when he started school.  The school wants the list of where the kids are going to school, their scholarships, number of seats we need for graduation, permission slips for the end of year activities, and the list goes on and on.  The senior handbook is 50 pages long, and I've ignored it for far too long.  There is much that is due in the next month - both to the high school and to the university that he will be going to in the fall.

It's a bittersweet time.  I'm thrilled beyond words that he has discovered what he wants to do and is ready to launch out into the world.  I am also sad, that my little boy is no longer my little boy.

*sigh*