For just another week, I’ll have all my kids home, and then my daughter will go back to Bison City, where she needs to run a study, gather data, and write a master’s thesis before the end of July. But in August, she’ll return to enter a PhD program at Snowstorm University.
Yes, my two oldest kids will both be attending grad school here in Snowstorm Region. They’ll be sharing an off-campus apartment with First Extra, whom we’ve known since he was a kid and who will also be going to grad school at Snowstorm University. “We can start having lunch together on Fridays!” I told them all when I heard the news. It’s going to be great to my daughter back in town.
When I ran into First Extra's parents at the grocery store last week, we reminisced about how it had been ten years since Boy in Black and First Extra had graduated from their little elementary school. "And now our kids are going to live together like one happy family," First Extra's Mother said, laughing.
We’ll have a bunch of family members attending Snowstorm University at the undergraduate level: Shaggy Hair Boy, of course, and Blonde Niece, and Skater Boy, whom we’ve known since he was tiny, will begin their sophomore year. Drama Niece, my brother’s daughter, will come from Camera City to attend Snowstorm University, the first she’s lived here. She’s already a fan of the basketball team, so we figure she’ll adjust pretty quickly.
“We’re going to have five grandchildren at Snowstorm University,” my mother said when she heard the news. She’ll see them all pretty often: no hungry student would ever turn down one of my mother’s homecooked meals. Shaggy Hair Boy already goes over to his grandparents’ house once a week to record music with his grandfather and eat lunch.
“You can’t keep us here forever, you know,” my daughter warned me last fall, as she was looking at PhD programs. And yes, I know that parenting is all about letting go. But even so, I’m thrilled right now at the choices my kids have made: they’ll be here in town for now. I’m going to enjoy that while it lasts.
12 comments:
It's so simultaneously odd and awesome to suddenly know the locations after having enjoyed your images as rather mysterious dispatches from afar all these years. Especially this one, since I stand there all the time now.
That is a beautiful building.
Lucky, lucky you.
Oh, that's not the right word.
Blessed, that 's what you are.
Krista: I know! We need to get together for lunch one of these days.
Liz: Yeah, it's one of the oldest buildings on campus. It was there when my father was in grad school there.
Lilian: I agree.
How wonderful but boy am I jealous.
How exciting that they will all be so close to home. Enjoy your summer and you will have Fall to look forward to.
Are they all studying similar fields in grad school? That is so wonderful that you will have so many people you love back within reach. And, selfishly, I look forward to hearing about some of those great Friday lunch conversations I'm sure you'll all have! :)
Nora
Nora: Actually, they're in very different grad programs. My daughter will be studying clinical psychology, Boy in Black, computational physics, and First Extra, accounting.
Great shot! How cool to have the kids around again and still.
Yeah, I guess those qualify as different fields!! :)
I did my doctorate in clinical psych...finished 4 years ago. Good luck to all of them, but a special high five to your daughter! I'm sure she'll love it.
Nora
so excited about the cuzzies studying/hanging together. i adore it when danny's mates all gather back here for the summer - it's like instant extra family X
It still blows my mind how excited you are about them still being around at their age. That's the way it should be, of course, but it doesn't stop it from surprising me.
Your children are even more fortunate than you, which is saying something.
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