2017 seems so long ago, now .....

[Xenia]

Continuation of our previous thread.

Congrats to him. That's tough for you though.

I'm delighted he's had the opportunity but terrified they will
decide to stay 😢

I think that my current university student will end up in some far flung country too.

Both are in construction related jobs and with large firms. Both did about 50 applications, so a lot but not the 250 some here have done.

Far flung countries can mean nice holiday trips for parents I suppose.

Well done for the construction grad schemes.

All well here now both twins are in permanent solicitor jobs so no job application related news at present. I hope everyone else is doing okay. We do have the whole family together this weekend coming up ( all children and all grandchildren - first time as a whole group as is baptism of the very smallest one) so that will be lovely. We seem to have moved as a family from those years of parents getting old, ill and dying - the 4 grandparents dying to a new era of marriages and babies.

@Xenia make sure you get at least one good group photo

I am trying - we have hired a photographer and one of the groups I want is my 9 descendants all together and only they (on that one) so hopefully it will be achieved but with so many of us it is not always easy.

May be the thread has to die as our children went to university in 2017 so long ago, but Happy Christmas to everyone. The twins are enjoying their in-house solicitor permanent jobs so seem settled (still living at home). Their friends are similar - one just passed his last accountancy exam (ACA) and their dentist friend one is practising and fully qualified. One twin is having his usual formal dinner here for New year - 12 friends are coming this year (so 13 with him) and even 12 round the table last time was stretching it a bit but I think they want the group of 13 even if not much elbow room. Probably a lot will spend the night. I have suggested the rest of the family not be there but I will be in the background, trying to sleep upstairs.

Maternity/holiday leave ends very shortly for one of my lawyer children and we have seen a lot of the gorgeous baby (and the lovely toddler older one too). The other 2 grandchidlren (my mother daughter's) are skiing with their parents over Christmas (something we used to do when children were smaller sometimes). They are with us in spirit too.

Our older son was here over Christmas but has now gone back to Oxfordshire (where he works/lives - he is the only one of the 5 who is not a solicitor).

I don't feel university years are a long time away as all cousins of my children on my side of family (four of them) are still at university/post grad stages and there are potential lawyers amongst them so I still feel pretty involved with legal qualification, exams, jobs etc albeit in the background now.

2024 was my first year not supporting children for forty years (other than that the twins still live at home but buy their own food). One of the twins just replaced our 2nd car which I had bought 2nd hand 10 years ago and became the twins' shared car when they passed their tests at 17. That old one died/was scrapped in December so my son replaced it with a new second hand one - his first major purchase ever and it is nice to see him using cash he earned to get something he wants. That does mean the twins no longer share that second car so one is carless but it is simpler - no negotiations over who has it when. We are in outer London so a car is very useful compared with inner London.

I think 2025 will be a year of stability as both twins are in permanent jobs, all 5 children working, grandchildren doing fine and my work is good too.

How are the other 2017 university starters doing?

I’m happy to keep chatting! Though I can’t remember why I joined this thread as none of mine started in 2017! I think maybe my Dd graduated around the same time as most of the 2017 starters as she did a longer degree?

It was lovely to have all of mine home together (briefly) - Dd had Christmas Eve to Boxing Day off which was great.

Mine finishes their three year masters this year and their sibling is in their final year of their undergraduate so that'll be two ceremonies to look forward to.

Seasons greetings to all! I think the uni years don't seem at all distant to me because DD stayed in the same place, joined and helps run one of the uni clubs (though now doing the same activity with the 'town club' too). She and her BF are with us now and over the new year after being at his parents for Xmas. They both seem to be enjoying their jobs.

Good to hear people are still around and best wishes for the forthcoming New Year.

I suspect university contact will be endless in this family as if someone in the wider family who might do medicine starts next academic year he will be finishing not too long before my oldest grandchild might be considering it.

3 of us are working from home today so full house as ever - just as well in the 1990s we bought a house where I could work from home full time and the children's father teach the piano/organ in another separate room and then 2 other downstairs receptions as well for teenagers and one for babies. Everyone had knocked houses through or lots had so finding a house with 4 separate receptions which did not lead off each other was difficult but we managed it and here we are over 25 years on finding that very useful still.

Just testing to see if I can post here as I can't post on another thread

You can!

Thanks !

Not much news here but the working from home continues including my son's friend here for a week. We had 5 of us including my local daughter and my son's friend one day this week. Today it is 3 of us.

I hope everyone else's children are doing fine.