Kid(s) leaving home - support group

[Ksyrup]

My birthday is Sunday and Caitlin's 21st is on Tuesday. First birthday we won't spend with her.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

They are doing a blended semester academically. All of Caitlin's classes are online, but she's also supposed to be doing observations in the local schools so who knows how that is going to go. Others have a mix of online and in-person classes.

Worst-case, the entire season is cancelled and she has her scholarship through the end of the year. She still has 1 more semester to finish school (since she can't student teach during the spring because of softball), so she's still on track to graduate in December 2021. Question is whether she'll play any more softball.

What is NKU doing with the extra year of eligibility that the NCAA granted all athletes after losing the spring season?

[Ksyrup]

All the players get the extra year per the NCAA but the schools do not have to pay for any of them. From last year's senior class, 2 of 10 seniors came back. I don't know how the conversations went with the players in terms of who might have wanted to come back but weren't offered.

They have not talked to Caitlin about coming back for 2022 but she's 99.9% not coming back even if they want her to. College softball has taken its toll on her. She's gotten nearly a free education out of it but it's definitely been a job for her. She'll have fall 2021 left to finish school and graduate. Doubt she'll come back for a semester of grad school to play another season.

But we'll see. Unlike last year's seniors who don't count against the scholarship limit, they'll have to count any of the players returning for the 5th year after this year against the 12 scholarships.

[PilotMan]

Day 1 and my kid is already pissed that things aren't moving fast enough and that the school's plan for his program seems completely lost. He's talked with other students who have only flown 8-15 hours in a year in a half, and that people are looking at 6 years to get their flying done, which was something that obviously wasn't advertised. It's eating him up.

[tarcone]

And Cori is gone. We got her moved in and set up. She seems pretty happy to be there. A bittersweet day for sure.

Wife is a mess but I am okay. Happy she is moving on to the next big adventure.

[Edward64]

Kids will be home sometime today. Good to see both of them together again even though HS graduation was only like 4 weeks ago.

Son surprised us by wanting to come home. Daughter was more of a struggle, still enjoying her independence I guess.

I was hoping for a good weber grill sale but none for Labor day. Hoping to get one on BF though.

[Ksyrup]

Caitlin came home yesterday. A number of athletics people think it's just a matter of time before they shut it down. One girl is going to a wedding this weekend and then coming right back to school. We hold out hope that the spring sports will be spared a second shutdown.

[tarcone]

Riley and Cori both came home this weekend. It is kind of a shock. Im not going to lie that I have enjoyed them being gone. And it seems my relationship with my wife has gotten better.

Missouri S and T expelled 40 kids for going to a party off campus and has quarantined an entire Frat (200 members). I was surprised about the expulsions, but S and T is a serious University and wont take shit.

Havent heard much about SEMO yet, Riley got home a little later than Cori.

I am happy they are home. I admit it.

[Edward64]

Both kids are back in school now. It was good to see them again.

Looking back at my original post that started this thread, still holds true. We'll never be "that" family again but it's not bad-bad, just different.

I do think of all the things we coulda/shoulda have done more when they were younger. What other experiences could we have given them, what habits or hobbies could we have encouraged, what other morals and ethics could we have instilled or discussed more in depth etc. It's like 80% cruise control and out of our hands other than tuition payments.

[Edward64]

It was a good Thanksgiving dinner with the 2 kids.

Son is still skinny but filling out some. He has internship and will graduate after the summer. Daughter seems to be enjoying the college experience.

We haven't really experienced any empty nesters' syndrome/anxieties.

Hope everyone here had a good time with their kids.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

It was a good Thanksgiving dinner with the 2 kids.

Son is still skinny but filling out some. He has internship and will graduate after the summer. Daughter seems to be enjoying the college experience.

We haven't really experienced any empty nesters' syndrome/anxieties.

Hope everyone here had a good time with their kids.

I love having the son home, though I don't think the feelings mutual. I think he is glad to visit, but since he won't be going back until half-way through February, I can already sense he is getting antsy. He has loved being at school so much. I feel blessed that he found a perfect fit school.

[Edward64]

Yeah, I don't think it's mutual either. The kids have gotten a taste of freedom. 2-3 days is okay, a whole week is torture (just like it was for me/us). More so now with limited outside entertainment.

[Butter]

I'm glad both of my children are home for now. My oldest is telling me he wants to move out by next summer, the one who is not in college. He is working at Taco Bell and is by far their most dependable employee. He is still figuring things out but wants to do it not living here.

The college one just finished his first semester at Cincinnati, or is finishing. He has decided not to go back for spring, just to take online courses from home. He is in a co-op program, so he wants to do a co-op locally for next fall and live at home. That means after 3 months away, he'll be home for 12 months, then back at school Spring '22.

I am ready for them both to go, and I'm already feeling a little bit of that empty nest... and I like it. But I can wait another year.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Butter

I'm glad both of my children are home for now. My oldest is telling me he wants to move out by next summer, the one who is not in college. He is working at Taco Bell and is by far their most dependable employee. He is still figuring things out but wants to do it not living here.

The college one just finished his first semester at Cincinnati, or is finishing. He has decided not to go back for spring, just to take online courses from home. He is in a co-op program, so he wants to do a co-op locally for next fall and live at home. That means after 3 months away, he'll be home for 12 months, then back at school Spring '22.

I am ready for them both to go, and I'm already feeling a little bit of that empty nest... and I like it. But I can wait another year.

I am hoping the kids end up staying in GA or close to one of our in-laws (and we'll relocate). I can see letting the kids live at home first year out of college but would rather have them out of the house. My wife and I were also talking about when we would get the kids off our Med & Auto insurance.

Question on first son. Can he live by himself working at Taco Bell or will he have to get a roommate(s)?

[Edward64]

Son & daughter did their own taxes this year. Another milestone to being grown up.

[Ksyrup]

Funny this popped up - just moved all of Caitlin's big stuff into storage because she was offered the opportunity to break her lease if she moves out by the end of the month. Leases run August through July so we were going to pay for an apartment for nothing for 3 months. She's got one semester of student teaching left in the fall, then she's done and going to stay in Northern KY while she looks for a job.

We found her a "grown up" apartment complex to live in starting in July. So we're saving about $2K moving her out early. She'll stay with teammates until the season ends, then she's having surgery to officially end her softball career and start focusing exclusively on her teaching career.

[tarcone]

Yeah, I taught my daughters that last year. That online form is money.

Both girls starting to find their places this year I think. Took Riley a little long than Cori, but that is normal.

Cori made the Deans list her freshman Fall semester. Tat was with 17 hours at Missouri S and T where they try to wash you out the first year. And I see it. My daughter is stressed. But she hasnt cracked.

Riley is getting As and Bs in Psychology.

Girls are flourishing being out on their own. I am proud.

[GrantDawg]

Both of my kids did their own taxes this year as well. Simon got straight A's in his first semester, and is on pace again this semester. He is also in a freshman improv group and a play.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[JonInMiddleGA]

And on the kid's birthday no less, he finds out he landed the summer internship he wanted most, with the Miami-Dade prosecutors office, where he'll be the assistant to an ADA for the summer. It's a very immersive experience, with him basically shadowing one all day every day. In court, out of court, you name it.

And with that, thanks to Covid .... just like the courts there right now, it's all electronic.

That means he'll be working from home, and that's OUR present for his birthday: he'll be in Athens for the summer.

How's that for a thoughtful kid? His birthday but we end up with the biggest present.

I'm decent enough to feel bad for him about the downgrade in scenery, dining, and weather ... and honest enough to admit I'm pretty stoked about it

[albionmoonlight]

Glad that you get to spend the summer with him. And that had to be a pretty tough internship to land. I imagine a lot of U. Miami students try to get into the Miami-Dade office.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Glad that you get to spend the summer with him. And that had to be a pretty tough internship to land. I imagine a lot of U. Miami students try to get into the Miami-Dade office.

You gotta hit the marks on various things BUT, tbh, it's not as tough as you might think.

The reason being that so few law students have any interest in criminal law, or ever seeing the inside of a courtroom.

Only 15-20 percent of his cohort would have even applied for this, the rest are fighting for civil law spots.

[Ksyrup]

We'll get to spend most of the summer with Caitlin prior to her final semester in the fall, since she'll be recovering from double leg surgery for compartment syndrome.

Softball giveth the scholarship and taketh away the health.

[spleen1015]

My daughter's last day of high school was yesterday. Her last game of high school softball was Tuesday night.

I'm ok. She's growing up and she's turned out to be a great young woman.

Off to Ball State in August to play softball there.

I'm not ok.

I see her and talk to her every day. While she won't sit down and watch sports with me, she understands all of them fundamentally so I can always talk to her about the funny or cool shit. Like today with that silly play in the Cubs/Pirates game.

"Why didn't the 1B just go touch first?!"

[cuervo72]

Programming update: son will be providing accompaniment (one of the trombones) for tomorrow's performance of "Back Home Again in Indiana."

[GrantDawg]

Son got home Friday, but he will only be home two weeks. He leaves (4 days before is 18th birthday) to go back on campus. He is going to be a group mentor for incoming freshman, that will come to campus and take classes to give them a feel of college life. He did the program last year, but it was all online.
HE also informed us that he plans on taking another year of Japanese, with the intent of going to a special summer program next year at another college in Connecticut that would be the equivalent to another year of Japanese. His hope is by the summer after that, he will get into a study abroad program in Japan. It looks like now his plan is to double major in Japanese and either Computer Science or Math.

[Edward64]

Son is interning and then graduate in Aug. Unless he finds a job quickly, he'll return home for his job search.

Helped him with his resume and LinkedIn last week. In a couple weeks, we'll do job search in earnest.

[tarcone]

Isnt about time to start a Kid(s) returning home support group?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Programming update: son will be providing accompaniment (one of the trombones) for tomorrow's performance of "Back Home Again in Indiana."

That's cool. It sounded good

[JonInMiddleGA]

I guess I oughta throw in a summer update myself.

Right now, since the courts in Miami-Dade are still operating virtually, the kid is likely to be home through the summer. That could change however as unofficial thinking is that those courts may reopen sometime near the end of summer so there's a bit of play it by ear going on right now.

After one week his internship has met/exceeded all expectations. He's working for an ADA that is the top guy in their B Felony division so he gets to work relatively interesting stuff with some quantity. His boss -- who went through the same program himself -- has been great about making sure he got sent to observe the most engaging courtroom each day. Better still, every single day he's told us something he learned and with no small amount of enthusiasm.

Will was a hit with a judge who (when he realized he had 4 interns in the room) threw out a question about a particularly obscure point of state law and my favorite intern was the only one who knew the answer, in fair detail even. That story made it back to his boss (from multiple sources) before lunch was over, which scored points.

So far, just a great start to the summer.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Butter

That's cool. It sounded good

[Ksyrup]

Caitlin's home for the summer and rehabbing after surgery. We go up next weekend to sign a lease on her new apartment away from campus as she begins to transition from student to citizen. She's got one more semester left but it's only student teaching and she will hardly ever need to step foot on campus. She'll graduate in December.

We have to start looking hard at colleges this summer for Mackenzie. Not sure how this one is going to go.

[bob]

Maybe it would be best to start a new thread, but figured the guys in here would be the best for advice on how to help our kids in navigating high school -> college admissions. My oldest starts high school in the fall, and I'm sure that its a lot different than when my application to GT was the back and front of one page, no essay required. So if you guys have a moment, any advice for things our kids should be looks at doing while in high school beyond the standard get good grades and test scores?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by bob

Maybe it would be best to start a new thread, but figured the guys in here would be the best for advice on how to help our kids in navigating high school -> college admissions. My oldest starts high school in the fall, and I'm sure that its a lot different than when my application to GT was the back and front of one page, no essay required. So if you guys have a moment, any advice for things our kids should be looks at doing while in high school beyond the standard get good grades and test scores?

Activities and interests. Colleges really like to see time spent outside of academic pursuits, and some kind of focus on what a likely major will be.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by bob

Maybe it would be best to start a new thread, but figured the guys in here would be the best for advice on how to help our kids in navigating high school -> college admissions. My oldest starts high school in the fall, and I'm sure that its a lot different than when my application to GT was the back and front of one page, no essay required. So if you guys have a moment, any advice for things our kids should be looks at doing while in high school beyond the standard get good grades and test scores?

My twins were able to get a lot of college credit while in high school, by taking AP courses or dual-enrolling. They both ended up enrolling in college with about 24 hours completed. This is good in that is saves you some money, but it also requires the student to jump into core classes for their major quickly, which can be daunting and if they aren't sure what they want to do - very stressful.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Breeze

My twins were able to get a lot of college credit while in high school, by taking AP courses or dual-enrolling. They both ended up enrolling in college with about 24 hours completed. This is good in that is saves you some money, but it also requires the student to jump into core classes for their major quickly, which can be daunting and if they aren't sure what they want to do - very stressful.

Yes. My daughter was able to get a about a semesters worth of credit. Cheap and she is doing it anyway.

Our HS also offers a program where you can go to a community college and earn your AA at the same time you earn your HS diploma. A lot of kids do that and it is cheap. They walk into a 4 year college as a Junior.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bob

Maybe it would be best to start a new thread, but figured the guys in here would be the best for advice on how to help our kids in navigating high school -> college admissions. My oldest starts high school in the fall, and I'm sure that its a lot different than when my application to GT was the back and front of one page, no essay required. So if you guys have a moment, any advice for things our kids should be looks at doing while in high school beyond the standard get good grades and test scores?

Grantdawg hit a pretty big one already: "checking the boxes". It's the reason we always had seniors who'd never done anything athletic suddenly running cross country and such. Something athletic, something service oriented (club, volunteer work, whatever), something leadership related (even if it's just assistant treasurer to the chess club), so on & so forth.

Breeze hit another one: AP classes. For example - using a benchmark you'd be familiar with - a member of UGA's freshman class now averages 6 AP classes. (my HS didn't offer 6 APs back in my day) It's a benefit to the student for skipping past some of the most tedious college course load as well as being a financial benefit but for admittance purposes they're looking at it as an indication that the student can handle more rigorous coursework.

My own tips/advice would include a number of other bullet points, in no particular order:

-- You can't start thinking about this stuff too soon. We started unofficial campus visits at the beginning of middle school (at his request). By the time you get to more serious in depth ones, they're old hat & they've developed a keener eye for what they're looking for instead of being dazzled by any dog & pony show stuff.

-- scholarships, scholarships, scholarships. By 10th grade start exploring every angle. A lot of "full rides" can be cobbled together with smaller scholarships regardless of what the school itself eventually offers. Every organization, membership, legacy, interest group, you name it. Grandparent was a postal worker? Your child is eligible for their stuff. Wanna be a history major? There's major-specific stuff offered at the school / through the department. It's endless, but it requires a lot of thinking & digging ... as well as a ton of paperwork and a literal calendar to keep track of deadlines.

-- write, write, write. The admission process includes an increasing number of essays and the scholarship process includes even more. That means the better your writing chops, the better your chances for both admission choices AND financial boosts. And then work smarter not harder by figuring out what essays could be tweaked & repurposed for multiple uses. By the end of it all I think 3 dozen applications used only 4-5 basic essays here.

-- as the list of schools of interest forms, start getting familiar with their specific requirements for admission. Are they ACT-only? SAT only? Essay only? Interview only? Combinations of the above? If you spot a strong trend, you can focus preparation on those elements more.

-- test early, test often. The best way to figure out where you stand on those tests is to take them. The big two definitely match up better with certain skill sets so the sooner you know where you stand, the sooner you know what to work on improving.

-- re: scores Dig into the admission info for the schools of interest deeper, some offer automatic scholarships at certain score levels. And it's enough money to easily be worth re-taking a test a couple times to try to hit that score if a school is a serious contender. You might be fine on getting in but an extra point can mean significant $$ back in your direction.

That's my top of mind contribution

[bob]

Thanks for all this information and if you think of anything else, please keep it coming.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Breeze

My twins were able to get a lot of college credit while in high school, by taking AP courses or dual-enrolling. They both ended up enrolling in college with about 24 hours completed. This is good in that is saves you some money, but it also requires the student to jump into core classes for their major quickly, which can be daunting and if they aren't sure what they want to do - very stressful.

AP classes and the like are becoming even more important as many colleges are not taking SAT/ACT scores into account anymore. Academic rigor is the key.
BTW, today's my sons 18th birthday and he celebrating over 1,000 miles away. He is going to a party tonight (one for the program he is working in this summer), and on the way he bumped into Weird Al Yancovic. His daughter is in the program!

[tarcone]

To counter Jons assertion you should start looking now. My daughter visited Missouri S and T and fell in love when she was a junior. She majors in Aerospace Engineering and wants to focus on Space.
She has joined a sorority and is a mentor during freshman week and will join the NASA funded satellite design team. She has blossomed as a human being.

She knew what she wanted and Rolla is the 4th best engineering school in the nation one spot ahead of MIT. And she made the deans list this year.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Grantdawg hit a pretty big one already: "checking the boxes". It's the reason we always had seniors who'd never done anything athletic suddenly running cross country and such. Something athletic, something service oriented (club, volunteer work, whatever), something leadership related (even if it's just assistant treasurer to the chess club), so on & so forth.

Breeze hit another one: AP classes. For example - using a benchmark you'd be familiar with - a member of UGA's freshman class now averages 6 AP classes. (my HS didn't offer 6 APs back in my day) It's a benefit to the student for skipping past some of the most tedious college course load as well as being a financial benefit but for admittance purposes they're looking at it as an indication that the student can handle more rigorous coursework.

My own tips/advice would include a number of other bullet points, in no particular order:

-- You can't start thinking about this stuff too soon. We started unofficial campus visits at the beginning of middle school (at his request). By the time you get to more serious in depth ones, they're old hat & they've developed a keener eye for what they're looking for instead of being dazzled by any dog & pony show stuff.

-- scholarships, scholarships, scholarships. By 10th grade start exploring every angle. A lot of "full rides" can be cobbled together with smaller scholarships regardless of what the school itself eventually offers. Every organization, membership, legacy, interest group, you name it. Grandparent was a postal worker? Your child is eligible for their stuff. Wanna be a history major? There's major-specific stuff offered at the school / through the department. It's endless, but it requires a lot of thinking & digging ... as well as a ton of paperwork and a literal calendar to keep track of deadlines.

-- write, write, write. The admission process includes an increasing number of essays and the scholarship process includes even more. That means the better your writing chops, the better your chances for both admission choices AND financial boosts. And then work smarter not harder by figuring out what essays could be tweaked & repurposed for multiple uses. By the end of it all I think 3 dozen applications used only 4-5 basic essays here.

-- as the list of schools of interest forms, start getting familiar with their specific requirements for admission. Are they ACT-only? SAT only? Essay only? Interview only? Combinations of the above? If you spot a strong trend, you can focus preparation on those elements more.

-- test early, test often. The best way to figure out where you stand on those tests is to take them. The big two definitely match up better with certain skill sets so the sooner you know where you stand, the sooner you know what to work on improving.

-- re: scores Dig into the admission info for the schools of interest deeper, some offer automatic scholarships at certain score levels. And it's enough money to easily be worth re-taking a test a couple times to try to hit that score if a school is a serious contender. You might be fine on getting in but an extra point can mean significant $$ back in your direction.

That's my top of mind contribution

There's something kindof reassuring that the college game isn't that much different than it was in the late 90. Probably more competitive and more people get the game and are trying to game it, but it really hasn't changed much.

SI

[PilotMan]

What a whirlwind year.

The youngest graduated high school at 17. He spend his entire senior year at home taking dual enrollment classes at the local community college. It was, without question, the best decision that we could have made for him. He did great, and graduated with High Honors. He's planning to go to Northern Kentucky University, and live at home while working on media/broadcasting/journalism. His goal is to work on the production side of things and do editing for shows, commercials, etc. NKU does very well, and Cincy is one of the better places in the US for it. So that meets his needs. He also should be offered a half scholarship and with living at home, he's going to be in a really good position financially and plans to graduate in 3 years.

The youngest one finished his first year at Eastern Kentucky University and man, what a year it was for him. The kid is working his balls off, and making a name for himself. He's got some great avenues in front of him right now. As of right now he's working on a double major in Professional Flight and Aviation Management and a minor in Business. He belongs to the professional fraternities for both of those majors and has made connections locally in the Management sector in Lexington and Louisville. He got his Commercial Drone operator certificate (both of us got into racing drones and he is quite good at it, but doesn't have time anymore). He also started work over the summer in the department, continues to work on his Commercial Pilot Certificate, which he should have done in the next few weeks. He's been trying to convince the department that they need a drone program and that it ties together with the aviation program, and the massive direction that drones will trend to in the coming years. The president called the head of the department and said that he wants them to develop one and Zach is now working with a professor to develop that program. He's made friends with the owner of the flight school in Cincinnati where he did his private pilots license last year and the owner really likes him. He's offered Zach an opportunity to fly his multi-engine King Air with him once he finishes his multi engine rating later this year. That's an opportunity that any pilot would kill for. The chance to build time toward an airline career and get paid for it in an advanced plane like that is incredible. We'll see how it all ends up working out. And he's only 19 years old. He's trying to do all this and graduate in 3 years, but there's a possibility if things pan out for him, that he could graduate in 2 with just a single degree, and be able to start his career even faster. He completely trusts my advice for how to network, and sell himself to people, and how to develop his career.

Both kids readily come to us for advice and they are both very focused on a track that they want, and a pathway that they can see forward to success.

I cannot understate just how proud I am of them. When the youngest graduated, I cried. It's hard to have them all grown up, I miss their little years, but I am overjoyed with the men they have become.

[miami_fan]

Congratulations to your young men and your entire family.

[GrantDawg]

That's all fantastic, Pilotman.

[Edward64]

Son is interning and will graduate in Aug. Looking for a job now but will be going to graduate school next Fall.

I do think a year of real world work experience will be good before going to grad school ... but am concerned he may decide not to go as he'll be enjoying the money he'll be making.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Son is interning and will graduate in Aug. Looking for a job now but will be going to graduate school next Fall.

I do think a year of real world work experience will be good before going to grad school ... but am concerned he may decide not to go as he'll be enjoying the money he'll be making.

That is always a risk. Congrats on him getting through.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And mine is on the road back to Miami.

Just seems like it gets tougher each time we do this.

Y'all know all the shit that's been going on here for the past year, so you can imagine how much I'm gonna miss having him home on multiple levels.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

That is always a risk. Congrats on him getting through.

Yup. Asked him what he wanted as a graduation present. He said "porsche driving experience"

[PilotMan]

My middle son who is pushing himself beyond all expectations and flirting with burnout all the time, who took 12 credits over the summer, and is full time again, working 20 hours a week in the department, while trying to finish his Multi-engine commercial rating, is a homebody at heart. He comes home to recharge, relax and enjoy his happy place. He's been going to the counseling center on the side to keep himself squared away, and keep from going down a rabbit hole too. The Mrs video chatted with him this week for about an hour, and he's really not enjoying his new roommate situation. He's never had to deal with roommates before, and even though he's got his own room, he's in with 3 other guys, 2 he chose himself. It's a big adjustment from last year where he had his own room.

So the wife and I were talking and she was saying that he's struggling but that he was really, really excited to come home this weekend, and watch F1, play some disc golf, and just be around the family. She said it was the only time she saw him smile during their chat.

Well, the guy he works with came down with Covid and tested positive this week. He was in close contact with him, they were 50/50 on masks earlier in the week in the flight lab. There are no rapid tests in Kentucky. He would have to come home and get tested in Ohio. There are no OTC test in his area. He's getting a test, but it's a 2-3 day turnaround time.

The wife and I are going to Mexico in 10 days.

I tested negative 3 days ago.

We've all had Covid, and we're all vaccinated.

We aren't required to be tested to go to Mexico, but we need a negative test within 72 hours to return back to the state, or else we're stuck there.

So we're stuck in this quandary. The only real solution is for him to stay there. But we know it's going to break him a little more. I can tell from talking with him on the phone that he's really frustrated and unhappy about all of it.

The only thing I feel like I can offer is for him to drive the 2 hours home, get tested in Ohio, and if he's negative he can come home, otherwise he'd need to go back to Richmond. He said he's not willing to do that.

Which leaves me feeling really guilty about everything. It's really a rock and a hard place. I miss him too.

Thoughts?

[GrantDawg]

My daughter had Covid, stayed in our small house and did not give it to us. She stayed distant with a mask, and just spent her time in her room. If he needs to get off campus for his mental health, let him come home. He might not be able to do everything he wants to do with the family, but at least he can get away from the stress.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

My daughter had Covid, stayed in our small house and did not give it to us. She stayed distant with a mask, and just spent her time in her room. If he needs to get off campus for his mental health, let him come home. He might not be able to do everything he wants to do with the family, but at least he can get away from the stress.

Well, we tried to offer some options, including coming home and wearing a mask in the family spaces, or getting a rapid test up in OH, but he still thought we were overreacting and stayed away. It was frustrating, but ultimately he made the choice and we'll try and make the best of it.