University life for freshers (2019/20) - Christmas backpacking (or not) and festive homecomings with all the tinseltastic trimmings!

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Previous thread.

Both mine are due to leave on Sunday. I say due, since DD will be flying out but DS has hardly been home over the break and has done no work. I'm more than half expecting him to reveal that he doesn't want to continue. I sincerely hope that this is not the case, but he seems to lack commitment. Having his bf drop out /defer really won't have helped. Having exams followed by Reading weeks won't help either. He needs to be in at the deep end, not planning his return home after only a few days. I don't remember this happening when I was at uni.

@simbobs, has he said anything at all about how he feels about uni/the course, etc?

I not sure when DS is going back as he isn't booked a train ticket yet... says everyone else has exams the first week () and has been seeing someone here....

Actually, he showed up., had been out cycling with friends, then had dinner, did a bit of work and then went back out. It seems he is intending to go back to uni but only wants to stay a couple of nights and come back after the exams. We would prefer he stayed but he doesn't want to. Ho hum... Better than quitting, but he has just found out that his bank card is being used elsewhere so it must have been cloned. He has only just replaced it due to a problem with the magnetic strip on the last one.

My DS goes back next weekend and I already feel really sad. Its been so lovely having him home, despite 2 trips to a&e, the mess, noise, empty fridge and female visitors (yes plural ). I get all teary thinking about him not being home.

I feel sad that DD doesn't have enough people her own age to socialise with at home so I am not in the least bit sad that she is going back to a better social life and a place that she likes living in. Although revision and exams are the first bit she has to deal with.

I guess that I am odd in not feeling that I have to see or be with DD to feel happy. She has been pretty miserable all week, partly because she has felt so unwell, and partly because she is lonely. As long as she is happy wherever she is I am happy.

Is she feeling any better @ginfordinner ? Lots of students going back this weekend, not mine. She’s looking forward to returning with a shiny new liver as she’s only been out once and new hair, new money and all recovered from her ills. We’ve just planned a European city break for Easter and she was keen to join us so that’s something to look forward to. I won’t miss her untidiness that’s for sure!

That's a good philosophy, Ginfor dinner. My DD has friends at home with whom she has spent some time this holiday. As she is on a 3 part year abroad she has to find new friends every few months, a tall order for an introvert. Her current placement has been the most successful as she is sharing a flat with some gregarious people, whereas during her next placement of 5 months duration she will be in a studio on her own, and I know that I will worry about her. I'll try and visit, but that's no substitute for having a peer group.

She is feeling a little better virus-wise, but has come out in a horrible rash that the GP thinks is an allegic reaction. She has been prescribed industrial strength antihistamines and Betnovate as hydrocortisone cream isn't touching it. Unfortunately the itching keeps her awake and she is even more tired than usual. No revision done today

but that's no substitute for having a peer group.

I so agree with this. DD has a lovely peer group at university. Her local friends are scattered as we are rural. They also all have boyfriends so DD is not first priority when they are all home. As a result she doen't see a lot of them.

Just catching up on this thread because as soon as the DC got back from uni and the youngest finished school we went away for Christmas for a week. DS who has just started uni in London was very thin had a cough and was generally run down- think he found the last month tough looking after himself and had all his exams before Christmas - which at least means he is now rested. The older two DC are now working as they have exams when they go back- as does youngest DS with GCSE mocks- so it’s all a bit quiet here. Two go back to uni this weekend and the eldest has a week longer as he finished later - but still a logistic nightmare trying to juggle it all as they want to take Christmas stuff back to uni, but at same time have so loved having them all together. Am a bit concerned that my London uni student hasn’t found accommodation yet but am being reassured by him that they don’t need to start looking till Easter?? Am feeling envious of some of these accommodation costs- my London uni student is paying 250 a week for university halls this year and I expect next year will be worse!

I'm back after a christmas break. A week left until both Ds's are back to the airport. It's been great having them here but they do generate washing and mess in amazing quantities, I k ow I will miss them. Both DH and I back at work tomorrow so they may have to take care of themselves more.

Both mine go back tomorrow so feeling a bit melancholic today. It’s been lovely having them here, only a couple of flare ups between them and DD2 clearly growing up and more independent. She’s seen a nice mix of old friends here and some family days too tho lots of revision time too. Will be so quiet once they’ve gone 😟

DD2 will be glad come next week sadly. They are very different people at the moment. Hopefully in the future that will change.

DD is complaining of a sore throat again and glands back up!

Both mine due to go back tomorrow. Hardly seen DS at all and he has not seen much of DD, even though they do get on very well when they are together. He is spending too much time with his gf in my opinion. Unfortunately he is insisting on coming back here for the study weeks. I really miss having them both around and feel disappointed that we have not had as much family time as anticipated.

DD is quite anxious about going back as she has so much more work in Germany than she typically had at her home uni, and their less structured way of working doesn't suit her at all.

Sorry to hear that others are not 100% well. Such a shame. I blame it on the lack of cold weather.

Oh no Benji. It's never ending just now.

There are a lot of posts on the FB page from mum's upset about their DC going back to university. I am happy that, apart from exams, DD wants to go back. She often refers to Newcastle as "home" now, which I am happy about. I would feel anxious if she didn't want to go back TBH.

DS has had a rotten christmas. He got ill 18 days ago and on the 2nd trip to the GP, was wrongly prescribed antibiotics. It's clearly viral, not bacterial. He's had a terrible allergic reaction to them and woken up this morning with a rash and swollen face. Off to A&E this morning for blood tests and urine test. May or may not be glandular fever - he's so fed up and depressed with it all. I feel shattered. Sorry to hear of all other ailments on this thread. I remember reading freshers flu was real but this takes the biscuit.

I hope your DS feels better soon Jano69
DD's nose is so blocked that she can't sleep at night, and is then too tired during the day to get much revision done.

Sorry to hear that Ginfordinner - wishing a speedy recovery right back to your DD too.

Oh @Jano69 poor fella. DD had clarithomycin for 7 days . Nurse didn’t give penicillin because she said it wouldn’t work so well on the ear infection. I’m wondering if it wasn’t enough to knock the tonsillitis on the head properly though she did recover and had been off them since Monday. Will see how this goes and if worse I’ll ring gp in Monday- don’t want her going back ill as she hasn’t used her Durham GP yet.

Benjispruce - all these strains of Durhamitis are awful... hope your DD is fighting fit for next weekend.

I know. It was just out of the blue this afternoon. Yesterday she went out for a 5k run! I’ve just taken her to work (5- 10). Probably picked something else up from customers on the checkout!

A good, straight, low traffic run back to uni with DD today. Slight hiccup last night when she decided last minute she wanted to take her TV and her PS4 to be able to play her game on it. But she doesn't have a TV licence (as doesn't watch TV) and her monitor doesn't take the right cable. Much debating of how to do it last night led instead to her leaving it behind instead this morning.

We waited for her to unpack and helped unpack her kitchen stuff. After I scrubbed out the fridge as it was musty and smelly due to containing someone's 4 week old leftovers that were rather green! DD's fridge shelf is right at the bottom, so I took the opportunity to give everything a wipe down before she put her food back in rather than others try and clean their shelves and drip stuff onto her food.

Urgh.

I drove DD back to Manchester today. When she woke up this morning she didn't really feel fully enthusiastic about going back after an up and down first term, but she was brave on the day.

As a single Mum her presence is always so lovely I will miss her presence horribly. I cried quite a bit in the car on the way home. But maybe that just says I have to build my own life too (bearing in mind I have DS17 to get through A levels). Bless her - I have an operation pending and she's offered to be home to look after me post anaesthetic. I have friends who can give me a lift and bring round meals but I do need someone to keep an eye on me post op. She's a good girl.

Christmas was lovely and she and her friends were a total joy.

We will next be going up on her birthday, mid Feb, and have a hotel room booked as her birthday is a Friday and that way we can take her for dinner on her actual birthday, then do something touristy in her city on the Sat, then come home. She doesn't want to tell her flatmates when her birthday is as doesn't want the fuss, so she's happy we are coming up to spend time with her (and buy her a free meal or two!) .