Thread 53 - Covid GCSE Cohort - Happy New Year 2025 to our fab young people

[Delphigirl]

New thread! Looking forward to traversing 2025 with this fantastic group 🎉😘

Hello and welcome @CharlotteRumpling . This is like an MN within MN.
I've got one DS who graduated in 2023, he's currently on a graduate scheme and lives at home and another just finishing off his Industrial Placement and then going back in September to complete his final year. Welcome aboard.

DS2 is now 100% certain he doesn't want to work in tax when he graduates. Shame really because if they offer him a job it will be in tax so an opportunity sort of lost.

@crazycrofter Your DS sounds so full of energy, but I love it. This is exactly what youths should be doing (stares hard at DS2 just rolling out of bed!) gymnastics will be great for him as a side hustle; Suppleness and all that, and ice skating sounds brill!

Yes, he can maintain a handstand for ages, all the weight training helps I guess! I’m glad he’s so active and busy - he’s gone straight back to full time work at Tesco too- but I’m still worried about how he’ll cope with studying come September!

@shimy as a tax person, that’s a shame! But it’s good that he knows his mind 👍 I’m sure he’ll find something more up his street on graduation and the placement year won’t have done his CV any harm. Ds has come back from his travels convinced that he now wants to be a politician 😬

@Cantonet and @ealingwestmum fatigue/ poor sleep is a massive issue for me too. I have been going to the gym for the last year though - probably not seriously enough as I’ve only lost about 6 pounds and don’t seem to have much new muscle - but hopefully it’s doing some good?!

@craggyrat amazing weight loss, well done! 👏

@Cantonet your son’s work ethic is commendable but he shouldn’t have to miss out on a holiday?

We were empty nesters last year - we were just beginning to settle to it, but then DS graduated and has been back home for nearly a year! It is slightly easier since he started his proper job at Easter, but he and DH are really not getting on well. He really wants to move out, but London prices are ridiculous.
DD is home for a month - and the house feels very full. We're all off on holiday next weekend.
DD has some volunteering lined up to give her some relevant work experience, but no actual job. She can pop back to uni for some ambassador shifts which do pay. She doesn't have to move out of her house until the end of August.

Well, we're back with (as predicted) umpteen Ikea bags full of stuff. Took a while to clear his room, he's not the tidiest but at least it all fitted in the car It did feel a bit emotional for both of us as we drove away, when I first joined these threads I didn't think uni was a realistic prospect with his SENs and here we are, the support he has had through DSA and the uni has been brilliant.

We’re home with DD. So that’s child #1 through uni! She has a final round interview on Monday for a PA role locally, so hopefully she won’t get to the moping round the house point.

DH and I are both knackered. We’ve driven 600 miles between us in the past 26 hours.

Don't envy all those who had epic travels in the heat today. I'm sure it has been worth it though to be there to mark the start of the next stage.

@ExpensiveDecoration What a lovely post. Well done to him for navigating his path.

@EwwSprouts the heat?? I guess you're not in West Wales then 😂 I'm soaked and windswept. We still have a lot of cleaning to do before the drive back tomorrow. Who knew students were so grubby 😭
Meanwhile, it's 35° where DS is. No wonder he doesn't want to come home yet.

@mummyinbeds No, on the sunny east coast. Been a get your washing out day! Cooler will be more pleasant for scrubbing duties! Is your DD sad to leave?
Does your DS thrive at that temperature? I don't envy him as I don't function when it's that hot.

@EwwSprouts DD has another year, possibly two as she wants to do a Masters. She loves Aberystwyth and is planning on coming back as soon as she gets back from Ghana at the end of July - if she can find a job.
DS is not a fan of the heat but he's found a lake with a beach and seems to be enjoying lazing in the sun.

@mummyinbeds I'm in awe of of the wings your two have spread.

Ahhhh end of an era as so many of you pick up kids for the last time from uni and look forward to graduations! They have all done so well and it has been fab getting to know them all through this thread over the last 7 years. My ds2 still has one year to go. Has driven himself home from uni (left most of his stuff there for next year) and is just waiting to hear what ship he is going to be joining next week ( and where in the world it is) for his hydrography summer internship. It’s been lovely having him back for the last few days. DD2 still working 14 hour days (6 days a week 😱) as a chef and loving it but it means I barely see her…

Ds is due home at the end of the month after his year abroad in Australia. It has cost so much money. He’s used all his savings. We’ve given him a fair bit, he’s still not had enough money to travel round some of Australia as he’s planned. So he’s only seen Brisbane, where he is, not even any beaches there and he’s been to Sydney. He’s got his usual summer job starting 30th June until mid sept. Then one more final year of uni. He’s hearing of all his mates finishing up, I think part of him wishes he was finishing. I don’t think Australia was quite how he expected.

@Delphigirl That sounds like an absolutely amazzing internship! May ask what's he studying and where? Geography?

@crazycrofter I guess its part of the IP to discover what they like and don't like. Hopefully, as you said it will still look good on his CV.

My Dd has another 2 years, a year abroad followed by another year at BCU. I did ask if she was eligible for loans , given she had an aborted start at Exeter. She said she hopes so. If push comes to shove she can live here and commute and get some pt work to pay the fees. I think she’s kind of needed the extra time to catch up with her peers. I am worried about how much it will cost. She’s very hopeful she will get Turing help. It’s a stretch for us to support her as much as we do. I’ve started getting canny with it. She needed a new phone, and I said I would buy it , max £100.00, in exchange for 8 hours of gardening. She does need to understand now that money needs to be earned. She does actually like gardening and it is a life skill I can pass on.

Ocean exploration at Plymouth!

Loving reading all the pick-up and end-of-year stories. My DS is still studying for his final (and first of his three-year course, which has all been essay based) exam at the end of the week. He was not a huge fan of exams so hoping it goes ok. I keep telling myself he did well at A-levels so hopefully this exam will not end up a dealbreaker (I think I’m a catastrophist).

He’s going to have a bit of time in Notts just enjoying himself, then three weeks of his usual summer job to top up funds, graduation, moving out of Notts, a holiday with the gf (2 years now!) and then home. I’m looking forward to having him back but worrying about him finding a job. That’s the autumn’s focus!

We were empty nesters for one year with our two DDs travelling and DS at uni. I was surprised how quickly we got used to it and how DH and I rediscovered a more focused and frequent companionship than when the kids were all around. A new phase of life for all of us. We will have 2/3 of the DC living at home from autumn, and possibly 3/3 (maybe even 4/3 if eldest DD’s boyfriend comes too - they’ve been living and travelling together for the last six years so very much come as a pair). That is going to be very crowded - perhaps that will be my and DH’s cue to travel and leave the house to them !

Some friends of mine have just done that @blinkbonny the DW has retired, the DH taken a sabbatical and they've gone off for a few months leaving their three DCs (25,21 and 19) at home.

Inspirational!

Of course, I remember now, it sounds awesome!

@blinkbonny Enjoy it (new phase), it's one of life's few pleasures.

@Zebracat I agree about needing to earn their own money with a better understanding of just how much things cost. Just this afternoon after service, a friend and i were talking and we just happened to mention the cost of bills, she said, 'I'm sure you're supporting ds2 with all that..", I said thankfully not as he is being paid a salary so he pays his own rent and bills. She looked horrified and kept repeating, 'but you must support him, pls support him more..' i just kept saying he earns well and there's no need for extra financial support. Sometimes we parents are our own worst enemies! But I admit i was thinking on my way home, should we really be supporting him further???

I'd probably just put aside any money you could be giving him so he can have it towards a house deposit in the future @Shimy .

@ExpensiveDecoration He's already got savings going towards that from his earnings. He's got more money than me!

We know that after next year, year 4, ds will come home to live with us, I'm not actually looking forward to this bit particularly, and he'll work in London say 2 days a week commuting , till he sits his final exams and is qualified. Dh wants to charge ds1 rent, secretly save it, and then give it back to him as a secret gift towards house deposit say 2 years later?