I'm an empty nester again, since both boys have now returned to college. The house is a little too quiet and my heart aches noticeably, but I also feel energized to do the things that I put off or aside while the house was full and there were more demands on my time. (I've marked affiliate/referral links with a *, which means I may make a little bit of money if you make a purchase or sign up using that link - thank you!)
Stella misses her brother!
- One of the things I had to do in getting the kids ready to head off again was set my 19-year-old up with a night in a hotel the day before dorms opened. He could have flown in on the day of, but logistically, flying in the day before made more sense. Most hotels have a minimum check-in age, and at a lot of them the minimum age is 21. For large chains, each hotel should list the minimum age on their details page, but I called the hotel I booked for him out of an abundance of caution and was told the minimum age is 21 even though the website said 18. Because the hotel is located within walking distance of his school, they immediately made an exception and said he'd have no problem checking in (and he didn't). So I'm sharing my story in case it's relevant for someone else.
- Speaking of college: Do you have or are you a student thinking about transferring colleges? Here's a great guide to transferring you should read before acting.
- For locals: Have you heard of LA Material?* They're a new-ish local news site that does fantastic work, and we need this kind of news to hold our leaders accountable.
- Update on Mistplay,* which I mentioned last week: I had a game fail to credit me points, so I contacted customer service and they credited the points manually. That was great. But then it happened again in another game and this time I didn't hear back, so I'm not sure I'm going to keep using them. (Missing game points has happened to me multiple times in Fetch, the other app I mentioned, and I've never had trouble getting those credited by customer service.)
- One of my favorite authors, Grace Burrowes, blogged about accomplishing something that makes a tangible visible difference as way to re-set and comfort herself when she feels overwhelmed. I've used the "just do something" strategy, but haven't thought about focusing on something that make a difference for a while, which I will do next time. The insight into her cavernous purse was fascinating too. (Ever since my kids were born and I had to lug a diaper bag everywhere, I rarely carry a purse - usually I just tuck my wallet, phone and keys into pockets.)
- Scripts are always helpful. Here are some possible calm responses when your teen is being difficult.
Finally, if you've driven down Beretania Street in Honolulu and wondered about the restaurant 8 Fat Fat 8, Onolicious has a review so I finally got to satisfy my curiosity. (I cannot tell you how many times I've driven past and wondered what it's like.)
No comments:
Post a Comment