A Long Vacation

As promised, I have been cuing (not nagging) my son on keeping his room neat (organized) since he’s been home. Not surprisingly, he is ready to get back to school.

The break between first and second semester of freshman year is often spent comparing notes with high school buddies. My son got together with some of the kids from last year’s senior theater class and went to the high school one day before Christmas to visit with former teachers. It was one of the highlights of his vacation, and I wish (for him) that there had been other days like it.

When I was in high school I had small groups of friends; these cliques changed over the years depending on what my interests were. But through elementary and high school, I was fortunate to have one very special “BFF;” the other friends came and went, but she was always there and still is.

Because there were few people that I missed from high school, my first break in college was spent not reconnecting with high school friends, but further connecting with the people I had started to become close to in college – especially those that lived relatively close by.

I’m hoping that one of the reasons my son is getting anxious to get back to school is because he, too, feels more comfortable with the new relationships in his life. I think (I hope?) the fresh slate at college has made it a little easier for him to forge peer connections. The friends with whom he plays Frisbee, some of the kids in his dorm – I think these are becoming some of my son’s first real friends.