Class of 18. No need for new school shoes

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Old thread:www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3478916-Class-of-18-now-in-2019-blimey

A thread for those of us whose kids left school/sixth form/college a year ago. Friendly chat :)

Sunndowne
Hope his new job goes well and hopefully he'll meet some nice people there. Does he do any sports or hobbies where he could join a local group?

Yes. Hope he will bronze gate. Thank you.

Hi hardwick yes dd is back in the same room. She is enjoying the start of lectures though has had problems with her 'outside' subject and has ended up with her third choice. The course itself is ok but the lectures are at 5 pm which means she can't get to her preferred early slot for the evening meal. It is very noisy and busy later which she finds hard to cope with.
How is the flat sharing going?

Hello all! Good to have found you again. So sorry to hear about difficult summers, the loss of beloved pets and illnesses.

DS has just finished his placement, and has another fortnight at home before he goes back. He has study to do but is, I think feeling a bit lost as he was working a 40 hour week plus commute and doesn't know what to do with himself!

Ah, that is interesting Nohaudin DD’s elective is also her third choice and she has had difficulty with timetabling it too. She is going to have to watch most of the lectures online because they are in the central area, and she is mainly at the science buildings.

The flat share seems to be fine so far. They have agreed to take turns cooking with two boys and last night was the boys first attempt. They cooked cook from frozen grill burgers in a wok.

5pm lectures a bit hard nohaudin. It's hard when they are taken out of their comfort zone.

Panda, how long 40 hrs? DD did that for about 5 weeks but is loving finally getting chill time! Your DS sounds like he has been extra busy! Good on him. So good for CV.

Frozen grill burgers. Yum!!! My son used suspect salt this week which was like powder on his food! Not sure what that was.

Dd has only 6 hours of lectures this year and they are pretty spread out which is a bit of a bummer as she is hoping to work. She was told she had a job but not heard anything about hours yet.

Had my home check today.

Interesting cooking! DS mainly cooks for himself at university but has had several sets of friends round this summer for beer and curry - cooking together then eating and playing games. We ended up eating out one evening as his friends came round much earlier than I anticipated. He has made us some lovely meals too though.

Sundownne - he had 8 weeks of placement at 40 hours a week. He has thoroughly enjoyed it but was surprised at how exhausted he was, he is used to lectures and studying for 8 hours plus a day but office environment different. He has been offered another placement next summer, and a year in industry if he wants it, but his university don't allow that. So pleased he has got on well, quite a few people went out with him for leaving drinks and he was rather tiddly having been bought drinks all night by his ex colleagues! He doesn't usually drink more than a couple of pints, so all part of the learning curve!

How did the home check go Ursula?
DD finishes her internship too this week. She's really enjoyed it :) Long hours too, but I think less tiring than university as she's had weekends to recuperate and once she's home, her evenings off. It's been so lovely to have her happy and she's genuinely been great company.

Two weeks and she's back :(

Seemed to go ok. Just waiting to get invited into the special fostering group if I’ve passed. I’m a bit nervous about having another dog in the house to be honest but it’s definitely what I need to give some structure to my day and get me out in the fresh air.

The FB group is totally off the scale. They are moaning about MN not being supportive.

Apparently according to the FB group we are a very judgemental lot. And which one of you told a 'poor woman' to get a grip...?

Delurking to say that the Facebook group are a bit on the obsessive side. This year group always comes across as pretty supportive to each other, but also quite calm as far as their offspring are concerned. Just to add that DS2 was very happy to move into a flat in South London for his second year after halls. So pleased to see the skyline and greenery and have a small living room between 3 of them.

The Facebook group has grown considerably this year, so you are going to get a wide range of people.

On average, the parents do seem more involved in the young people's lives than you'd see on here, down to organising every last detail for them.

It started out as a group to ask questions, and share information, but has evolved into more of a support group for parents struggling to adjust to their son or daughter leaving home.

Mumsnet judgey?
Surely not!

It was one of my better moves, bailing from the group of woe and wailing.There are only so many times a day I can internalise "FFS, get a life" and I need a few in reserve to cope with the inlaws.

I'm hopeful that this year DS's flat will suit him better, with two phd stidents, one doing a masters and DS - I can't see it being much of a shrieking party flat.

Hope you pass the suitability test Ursula, I would love another dog but with two toppling grannies and the odd six hour hospital visit it wouldn't be fair on the dog or me.

It's funny how chill it is this year compared to last year in terms of packing (though last year was a total nightmare for us). Apart from replacing a couple of smashed plates I don't think dd has even thought about it.

That sounds like a lovely flat DefinitelyRandom

The FB group is totally off the scale. They are moaning about MN not being supportive.

Ooh. Where does it say that? The posts on this year's thread are full of crying parents. I must admit that I did not feel teary at all, just emotionally drained. DD's stress levels were off the scale yesterday and every little thing just made her burst into tears.

And which one of you told a 'poor woman' to get a grip...?

I felt like saying it, but didn't

t was one of my better moves, bailing from the group of woe and wailing. There are only so many times a day I can internalise "FFS, get a life"

TBH I am staggered at the amount of crying parents on the Facebook group. Are their lives so empty of anything other than being over invested in their children's lives? DD and I are close and we have done a lot of things together, and I will miss her, but I really don't "get" the sobbing for weeks through the summer that some mothers have been through. They must think that I am "well 'ard"

Anyway, apart from DD being stressed, her flat is lovely. Her room is more like a small hotel room. She has a lovely view of the park and gets the evening sunshine. She is a few minutes walk from the medical school and about 10 minutes from the centre of town. The traffic was awful yesterday, but we expected that and allowed extra time for the journey.

First impressions of her flatmates are positive, and she had a couple knock on her door to say hello.

Oh, and the ex has apparently decided that he has made a big mistake in ending the relationship. I think DD is being sensible and has decided that she wants to move on.

I can understand feeling a bit bereft when your offspring leaves for university. When DS left last September I was happy for him but really missed him to start with. But wallowing isn't going to help them or you. Quick cry if you need one, positive pants on, chin up and keep yourself busy.

The sadness took me by surprise, because I hadn't felt emotional on any of the first/last day of school milestones. I think what I found hard was getting used to him not being there, rather than poignancy about him having grown up.

I have plans to reorganise the kitchen and redecorate some of the rooms in our house. I shall be too busy to be sad.

Just heard form DD and she said she had a nice evening and everyone in her flat is lovely. Sigh of relief. I'm sure that bringing some home baking, half the contents of a cocktail cabinet and Cards Against Humanity helped

Gin for the feeling drained. It sounds like a lovely place though.

It may have been me and the grips.

Alfie is in residence. Collected him yesterday afternoon. Aged 10. Previous elderly owners both died and his adopter returned him after 2 weeks as he was too strong and doesn’t like other dogs. He’s nervous and overweight and avoids going near my car as he probably thinks he’ll be shipped off somewhere else.

Dd is coming home today to see him!

UrsulaPandress
Hope Alfie settles soon and starts to gain confidence.

I hope you and Alfie bond well Ursula
Woof