As a full-time Granite State College employee, a part-time GSC student, and a parent of two teenage daughters ... my life has been a blur these last twelve weeks. I can honestly say that I live up to my image on the billboard GSC put up in Newport, NH, in that I could be the poster child for adult and continuing education. As proof, here is a partial list of the parental responsibilities that have occupied my time & energy over the past several months:
Packing up and delivering my daughter, Jess, to college. It was one of those 98 degree days, she had a car FULL of stuff, and she's on the third floor of her dorm (no elevator). Whew!
Assuring, and reassuring, Jess that her financial aid situation WILL work out. Even if her FA package changes a dozen times before the semester is half over! It will all be ok. (and it is!)
Talking Jess through her 'first-year' anxieties ... will she make any friends, will she and her roommate get along, will she be able to keep up with the other students??? (Yes, yes & yes!)
Bringing Jess home for an extended break when she got Mono. Mm-hmm ... Mono. Washing three weeks worth of her laundry & germ-ridden bedding. Nursing her back to health. Returning her to school with a month's supply of provisions - because "the food at school is terrible!"
Cheering Jess on with all the positive encouragement I can muster (You can too write that Psych paper by tomorrow noon! Honey, 'B' is a GOOD grade, not something to lament about! I'm sorry you're tired and your head hurts ... take a nap, drink gallons of water, take an ibuprofen if you need to ... and then study for your Italian exam.)
***
Cell phones & computers have made it possible to stay in CONSTANT communication with each other. Texting, Calling, Emailing, Facebook messaging ... there's no escape! I've barely had a chance to start missing my kid. But I do. Of course I do. There are certain things that cannot be conveyed in a text message.
There's nothing like the spontaneous discussions that spring forth when Jess bounds into my bedroom at midnight to enlighten me of her latest philosophical revelation. I miss my daughter's energy, her joi de vivre, the excitement that emanates from her very pores, when she is following the thread of an idea. I miss her pensive, deep-in-thought facial expression when she's reading a book or writing a paper. I miss Jess' light-up-a-room smile.
Fortunately, my daughter will be home over (aptly enough) Thanksgiving break, and I look forward to spending some face-to-face time with her. I think this is what people mean when they say they are enjoying the rewards of the hard work of parenting. Here's wishing all my classmates and colleagues at GSC's Claremont NH College a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you each get to take a break from the hectic pace of work and school to count your blessings - mixed though they may be.
Packing up and delivering my daughter, Jess, to college. It was one of those 98 degree days, she had a car FULL of stuff, and she's on the third floor of her dorm (no elevator). Whew!
Assuring, and reassuring, Jess that her financial aid situation WILL work out. Even if her FA package changes a dozen times before the semester is half over! It will all be ok. (and it is!)
Talking Jess through her 'first-year' anxieties ... will she make any friends, will she and her roommate get along, will she be able to keep up with the other students??? (Yes, yes & yes!)
Bringing Jess home for an extended break when she got Mono. Mm-hmm ... Mono. Washing three weeks worth of her laundry & germ-ridden bedding. Nursing her back to health. Returning her to school with a month's supply of provisions - because "the food at school is terrible!"
Cheering Jess on with all the positive encouragement I can muster (You can too write that Psych paper by tomorrow noon! Honey, 'B' is a GOOD grade, not something to lament about! I'm sorry you're tired and your head hurts ... take a nap, drink gallons of water, take an ibuprofen if you need to ... and then study for your Italian exam.)
***
Cell phones & computers have made it possible to stay in CONSTANT communication with each other. Texting, Calling, Emailing, Facebook messaging ... there's no escape! I've barely had a chance to start missing my kid. But I do. Of course I do. There are certain things that cannot be conveyed in a text message.
There's nothing like the spontaneous discussions that spring forth when Jess bounds into my bedroom at midnight to enlighten me of her latest philosophical revelation. I miss my daughter's energy, her joi de vivre, the excitement that emanates from her very pores, when she is following the thread of an idea. I miss her pensive, deep-in-thought facial expression when she's reading a book or writing a paper. I miss Jess' light-up-a-room smile.
Fortunately, my daughter will be home over (aptly enough) Thanksgiving break, and I look forward to spending some face-to-face time with her. I think this is what people mean when they say they are enjoying the rewards of the hard work of parenting. Here's wishing all my classmates and colleagues at GSC's Claremont NH College a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you each get to take a break from the hectic pace of work and school to count your blessings - mixed though they may be.
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