2017 seems so long ago, now they're fledgling graduates.

[latedecember1963]

4 years since A Levels and the wait for August and confirmation of where our chicks were about to fly the nest to.
It's been 4 years that has sprung a few surprises along the way, not least this lovely series of threads.

We went to Skye last summer - it is indeed a gorgeous bit of the world @ErrolTheDragon

We are still in discussions about this summer. Pre pandemic, flights would have been booked after Christmas!

DD has just heard she'll have a proper graduation in August. So pleased for her.

Great to hear about the travelling, ongoing working, studying and graduations.
and well done to the @Xenia lads.
Ds has finally sorted his elective and is off to Sri Lanka for 2 months soon. I'm being the over anxious parent worrying about the recent shortages and civil unrest there but ds blithely tells me oh we'll just keep out of the way of any trouble. I hope it's as simple as that.
Dh and I are planning a holiday in September when ds1 flies the nest again (for the 3rd and final time). Mind you he's recently managed to find himself a new European girlfriend so a lot of his work 'from home' looks set to be from hers across the channel from now on. We're rapidly re- becoming the empty nesters we were pre-pandemic. Must admit I don't relish the prospect. I love a busy home.

So glad to hear about the graduations and results for all.

my DS is still gallivanting round Europe , just finished a 6 week project in Perugia which he loved, now in Frankfurt for a few more weeks & just today he’s found out he’s been accepted for a project in Greece for 8 weeks. 20 of them working to renovate gardens in an education Center on some Greek island.

The scheme he applies for roles through is brilliant - but EU funded. Such a shame UK declined to continue it - its called ESC but part of Euramus.

we are heading out to visit him in Frankfurt in a few weeks which am so looking forward to! Will be driving so a big stock up in French supermarkets on way home! 😁

@Haffdonga, DDs friend is doing the same - medic? DD was going to go with her to travel for a couple of weeks, but thinks not now.

@Eve, that sounds really exciting!

Haffdonga, you are really in it for the long haul! Congratulations on the latest DS1s graduate medicine offer. These are really competitive, so he must have impressed.

We too have got the elective sorted. When I lived abroad before children I had a couple of good doctor friends who later became very senior, so an interesting elective would have been easy to arrange, especially as one is in the field DD is interested in. The mother of a Russian friend had also offered to arrange something. Both are now off the cards, but DD has been offered a place in a lab in London, run by a senior Professor and filled with really cool kit. I assume that she will just be collecting data, albeit in an area that interests her a lot. In sixth form she was in two minds whether to apply for engineering or medicine, and if she wanted could still switch. She is pleased, though I'm not sure that many of her friends understand.

So she will be at home for two months and then in the New Year DS comes home for three as his PhD supervisor will be taking a sabbatical in the UK and has kindly agreed to continue through what is the crucial year for DS. I did ask whether DD wanted to live at home rather than see if a friend had a spare room, but it appears that she considered it automatic. Nice. I went to boarding school and when I left for University my mother made it quite clear that I had left home and that there was to be no returning in the holidays. I wanted things to be different.

I hope the various trips happen. Last autumn we booked on a cruise, on quite a small boat, as we hoped this was more likely to happen. However I have been idly looking at Skycanner and dreaming of quick cheap hops to Mallorca. It has taken a while to get back into things but we saw Nomadland in an art house cinema at the weekend, which was brilliant, and so will follow up with another this week. We have tickets for the crunch Championship match tonight, which I almost don't want to go to as I fear our team will lose. It is nice that things have started to become more normal.

To add, DS' US University celebrated Graduate Appreciation Week last week, with a timetable of fun activities including rabbit petting. He skipped that, though took advantage of the chance to have a free professional photo. Perhaps an idea (the bunny petting) that British Universities could take up?

We do puppy petting at nottingham Uni - at exam time

I see there is an active thread…Nottingham or Leeds. Puppies could be the deciding factor.

DS’ US university also allows emotional support ponies. I don’t think LSE did, but ponies would liven up the Aldwych. Some years back DH had to go to one of those work awaydays designed, apparently, to improve team bonding. They each had to think of a way to improve the work environment and then vote on the suggestions. Inevitably a proposal to have an office cat won. Sadly management never implemented it.

Loughborough also did puppy petting & a petting zoo at freshers!

my DS was too cool for it though ( bet he would have secretly loved it! )

DD told me one of the Cambridge colleges had a 'support dog' which got stressed by too much attention and had to be retired. Her alternative of finding Bob the sociable 'borrow my doggy' worked well, especially as she can still borrow him.

We're just back home after a good two weeks on Skye (we only had one rainy day!), driving back to progressively more green and further into spring.

Popping in to say hi. finally dd has had graduation, just in time for the uni process to start again with dc#2.

Congratulations Cubangal , glad DD got her graduation, hope you all enjoyed it.

Another graduation- the final one of five this year in the carriemac household - mine! Had a fab day and was surprisingly emotional. I had never graduated before as didn't do a primary degree and for my masters gradation the DTs were 6 months old so I don't bother going

Wonderful - go @Carriemac !

Lovely @Carriemac

Awww, @Carriemac that's fab! 🎓🥂🍾

Congratulations @Cubangal and @Carriemac and your brilliant dc!

Well done and congratulations.
Yesterday was my son's last class ever so as I have starting school photo every september since 1987 when my oldest started morning Montessori nursery school, never mind my 1966 first day at school photo, I did a leaving one - after 35 years of having to take children to school etc.

Mind you today started much like the 35 years as one of the twins have to be taken to the tube as he has flown away on holiday with friends today for a week so I still have to be up bright and early for that. They have the next 2 weeks "off" (revision weeks) and then the final law exams with the Jubilee weekend bang in the middle so that will be a weekend of solid revision here.

The "new" baby (of one of my daughters) can now sit up - time flies.

I will start a new thread as we are on page 40 and put the link here. My twins don't qualify until 2024 so are still training and there are medical student parents on the thread still going strong so we have not quite finished supporting them as parents just yet.

New thread
www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4548828-2017-seems-so-long-ago-now

Thanks @Xenia - I enjoy lurking and hearing how all the dc are doing. Time does fly indeed - I can hardly believe dd is now in her early 20's as it seems no time at all since she was a tiny baby.