Sending your child off to college - Parent Orientation 101

Parent Orientation 101

Parents of new high school graduates – congratulations on a job well done!   You may not realize it yet but you and your offspring are about to embark on a great adventure - one that will transform you both.

Up until our youngest left for college, I dreaded facing the empty nest. I was the parent who became teary-eyed just watching the cars park for the high school graduation when our daughter Sara was only a sophomore.  Fast-forward two years. We are traveling to Washington DC to attend Freshman Orientation for families at American University.

The drive down was uneventful. “Daniel” my GPS, negotiated all of the twists, turns and traffic flawlessly with his characteristic cool demeanor. No wonder my family accuses me of spending way too much time with him. He never flinches, or is accusatory when he has to “recalculate”. What a guy! 

Once at American U., Sara and I met other slightly disoriented new arrivals and took off for the “walking distance” Mexican restaurant.  Walking distance that is if you are accustomed to the Boston Marathon.   Then all of a sudden it happens. Your child and the other newly minted college students are whisked away by the orientation counselor, a slightly older version of your child, to play ultimate Frisbee in the dark.  You on the other hand are left to revisit old memories as you play back life in the dorm – but as a fifty something year old.

Next the adventures of a 50 something year old staying in a dorm room......