DS/DD off to Uni? - Empty nest support thread

[rustybear]

DS is off to Warwick in October - anyone else feeling old? Or are there any old hands with advice ?

gingeroots my DS is fine thank you, he came home today because it is a festival -he has survived his first few days of repeating the first year and I think he will pull through with flying colours as long as he stays sane and gets up in the mornings and meets his deadlines. He has changed to a joint degree- history and economics instead of single history and I think he will find this more interesting as it will mean fewer continents' history to learn about (he is dropping the African history module) and fewer essays and he will be better focussed on his real interests
i e South and East Asia (India and China basically) history and economics. I don't track his computer history but he spends a load of time with his real life girlfriend - who also lives in the shared house! And he is co president of one of the student societies.
I feel sorry for him because he did get a first, even with the zero marks given for the essays he submitted late, and I wont be easy in my mind and neither will he, until I see his results at the end of this year.

DD's good looking college dad posted his longterm girlfriend up on his facebook page so that was that. Oxford girls are quite pretty and some of the boys appear slightly wolfish, so I fear its not going to be that easy for DD to find true love. But hey, she has only been there 5 days!

Good night.

My college dad ruse worked a treat and I got my phone call so I now know DD3 is very well and happy and loving it all and I'm not (or no longer) being ostracised for very poor logistics on Monday.

I think I'm born to fret.

I also entertain myself by being a latter day Mrs Bennet or perhaps more appropriately (due to numbers and I'd like to think lack of neurosis) Cora. I marry them off in my mind at the first whiff of romance. The fluency of the surname matters I think. It's not very modern but still.

I get Mrs Bennet- but Cora?

You clearly have better things to do on a Sunday night! Downton Abbey.

I've been a bit carried away recently by a spate of fine young men with good prospects and magnificent names....

funnyperson - great to hear your DS is doing well .
Well done him for sorting out change to a joint degree ,hope all goes well .

Hope all DC settling in now - it's a big change for them .

Wolfish(?) as in predatory-beware. Or will woo a girl till she succumbs? I'm hoping my DD (6 days) can differentiate :o

Betelguese- oh dear this is not great news and so soon after returning for his new term- when did they get the July blood tests I wonder and what did the August blood tests show? and what will all this do for his blood sugars and his morale?

By the way - i saw a mum of a child in the corridor today and about 2 months ago this mum was very ill in clinic ( I was seeing the child) with an overactive thyroid- so ill that she didnt know how ill she was- anyway the carbemazepine didn't agree with her liver and now her (Oxford) endocrinologist says its best if the thyroid comes out surgically then she can just go on a stable dose of replacement thyroxine- its a thought worth discussing with the consultant. Incidentally I am not so sure I would leave this in the hands of the GP- i think you should ring DS consultant direct as all this chopping and changing will affect his studies.

Wolfish as in predatory- the sort with lots of very drunk pictures on facebook great bags from solid clubbing under their eyes and a lecherous leer. Easy to spot unless you are in love with them- that sort- luckily DD goes for clever nice and steady good looking types. I have (only slightly) stressed to her the importance of a wealthy background but I don't think she heard that bit

Of course we looked at all the freshers names to see who was 'eligible' - we thought de beer might be- turned out to be a girl, alas- I think the boys have the advantage at Oxford actually- a real turn around from the seventies when most Oxford girls were bespecled and very intense and still had the advantage of being very scarce.

Anyway I'm trying to lay off the pressure- I sometimes think we put too much pressure- pressure to perform, pressure to be happy, pressure to find a handsome wealthy soulmate who marries them - etc- I'm not so worried now because of DD not having to face dangerous night journeys where she might get raped by minicab drivers.

BG Hope you can both work round this. What Funny was saying makes sense to me (non medic) as someone totally hypo can live with thyroxine. Likewise a type 1 Diabetic can also have the synthetic replacement. Food for thought or shoot me down as I've got the wrong end of the stick!

Funny did you really look at the names on the stairs. Must admit I gave them a quick glance but nothing stood out!
What I didn't like was that DDs name wasn't quite correct.

I look at all names everywhere, I'm always intersted in names, lots tell stories. When DD1 was in the eaves on the right, a Dr. Sturgeon was tucked away in the opposite room. I never felt he should be so far away from water, and I never saw him, nor did DD.

Betelguese did your boiler get fixed? And have you made it up to Oxford with all the missing essentials? I'm very sorry to hear he's not well.

Betelguese I Think I should be Harbinger of Hope for you just seems so wrong to use it at the moment.

Good luck for your sons exam betelguese remember to let them know about the thyroid before the results come out. Agree no point in seeing him too often. Perhaps he could get one of those cardio watches which automatically reads the heart rate as that can be an indicator and can help allay anxiety. A low HR say below 55 means too little a high HR say above 90 means too much.

www.amazon.co.uk/Oregon-Scientific-HR102-Heart-Monitor/dp/B000G8OWZU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318025247&sr=8-2

there are more expensive ones too.

collections, prelims, mods, subfusc, matriculation, staircase, camera, all these strange Oxford in-words- are there any others?

I was amused to hear slightly posher tones in DD voice- especially as she was very well spoken anyway- but after only 6 days! Has anyone else noticed this?

Today I am going to spend time with my own dear parents and get some exercise!

Betelguese I have sent you a PM.