I mean, I tried soooo hard to impose my hyper-organized, super-early-planning, Type A will upon the child...who's pretty much the exact opposite of me in all of the aforementioned categories...want to take a wild guess as to how that went? Yeeeahhh...I eventually was forced to give up, due to an extreme lack of cooperation and seeming disinterest in Figuring His S...tuff Out. Therefore, we'll take Last-Minute Chaos for the win, folks!
To give you an example, he'll be residing in an off-campus apartment this year for the first time, with people he doesn't know yet, which means many unknowns in terms of what he needs to bring to contribute to the living quarters. Of course, I thought of this ahead of time, discussed it with Derek, and suggested that he, you know, ASK the other dudes for input. And in response I got...crickets. Siiiighhhh--add "probable expensive and mobbed Target and/or Bed Bath & Beyond ordeal" to our move-in day festivities.
Then, approximately 18 hours before our agreed-upon pull-out-of-the-driveway-and-head-south estimate, he began rethinking one of his classes. Granted, we'd talked about it much earlier, in terms of how this particular course's late start time might impact both transportation to and from campus on his complex's shuttle bus, and traveling back to Chapel Hill for the shorter breaks, like Thanksgiving. But when he discovered that the last trip from the university to his neighborhood would take place each evening BEFORE the Chemistry session ended...that significantly mucked up the works, as they say.
In short, this meant he would be attempting to change his schedule, by speaking to an academic advisor ASAP--thereby making it much more useful for me to be around to act as his Parental Uber on Monday when the campus offices would be open, rather than Sunday when we wouldn't be able to accomplish any of our school-related goals anyway. Once we reached this decision, I tried to push back my hotel reservation by one measly day...only to find they didn't have any rooms available. Never fear, though, because it turned out in the most fortunate way imaginable.
You see, we've been Marriott Rewards members for as long as I can remember...but since we don't travel all that often or use hotels that much, I've never even bothered to check our points. However, since we'd now be joining the entire University of South Carolina student body in converging on Columbia at the same time, needless to say the lodging options--affordable ones, anyway--were pretty well booked. Except...I found a Courtyard Marriott, relatively near Derek's new abode...and had almost exactly the correct number of points needed to secure the room...for FREE. S-C-O-R-E! Bonus: when we arrived, both of our mouths dropped open in wonder...as it appears to be a brand new, sparkling clean, fairly posh property...maybe one of the nicest places I've ever stayed. (Yesssssssss....)
Anyway, I've gotten ahead of myself a little bit, so allow me to back up for a moment. Where were we? Oh yes: preparing to vacate Casa WestEnders. About a week ago, it came up in conversation that it would soon be time to go. With a thoughtful expression, Derek said, "Maybe I'd better start packing!" But about a half-second later he broke into a wide grin and proclaimed, "Nah...it'll take me about 15 minutes." The ridiculous thing is...he wasn't really even exaggerating. I swear--at the risk of perpetuating gender stereotypes--part of it must be because he's a guy. He simply....doesn't have that many belongings to take with him. So he made a small pile...and tucked it neatly into his closet until he was ready to transfer it to my car...the execution of which took, oh, about 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, the day before, we'd made the obligatory Target excursion, to replenish toiletries, purchase a couple of notebooks and such to start the first week of classes, at least, and pick up a few cleaning supplies we figured might come in handy for the new digs. (Earlier in the week, he'd asked me if I had some kind of list from last year, that we followed when collecting provisions...and if I'd happened to save it. Why, have you met me, son? Of course I kept the cheat sheet...for just such an occasion!)
And despite my best efforts to keep everyone on a schedule and get things taken care of ahead of deadline, Husband took him out anyway at the 11th hour to replace a pair of sneakers that were deemed too threadbare to make it through the semester. Even though, it should be noted, that I'd posed the question LAST MONTH and been told that his footgear was all fine, and he had no immediate needs in that area. When I called him on this, Derek shrugged and made the excuse, "Eh, that was then...a lot can happen in a couple of weeks with teenagers' shoes, ya know!" (Grr...boys!)
Eventually, everything seemed to be in order, and we were ready to hit the road. There was just one logistical item to arrange: Derek wanted to determine what time I preferred to leave in the morning. "Well, definitely not at the crack of dawn!" I told him reassuringly. "Okay, what does that actually mean?" he replied. "Um...about 10?" He snorted, "Mom...I'm a college student. That IS the crack of dawn!" Alrighty, then...may I suggest you set an alarm!
Cruel and unusual wake-up time notwithstanding, our farewell went smoothly. As a matter of fact, then entire 4-hour jaunt flew by without a hitch, for once. We cruised into SC pretty much at the expected time, and got to meet Derek's roommates when we dropped off his possessions. Since we changed our travel day, he'd missed the opportunity to pick up his key until Monday, but at least he was able to put his things in his room and get the lay of the land, so to speak. This was quite helpful, in fact, since it brought several issues to our attention: 1) the shared bathroom for him and one of his roommates lacked a shower curtain and 2) rather than the standard dorm-size Twin XL, his mattress is unexpectedly a Full...for which he has no bedding whatsoever that fits. (About that extra foray to Target? Told ya so...adding "sheets" to the list now, so I don't forget...)
We didn't spend a whole lot of time with the other tenants, but they seem pleasant and personable. Notably, two are Seniors, and one is a grad student in the Pharmacy program--so not only is Derek the "baby" of the unit, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the others have some serious studying to do, rather than being a party bunch. However....I'm not gonna lie...it does make me worry about the extraordinarily easy access Derek will have to, say, beer...when living with three legal adults. Tell you what....for the time being, I'm just gonna operate under a flexible policy of "trust", mixed with a healthy dose of "ignorance is bliss" and see how that works. I'm sure this is a story that will develop over time...
So, yeah--then we did the shopping thing, which was much more successful, and less torturous, than I'd feared it would be. At that point, after all of our running around, it had become dinner time; we mutually decided that after a long day of toiling, fueled only by occasional light snacks, we'd more than earned ourselves a genuine meal. (Okay, Chipotle, but it totally counts!) Finally, I ferried Derek to his last stop of the evening: a buddy's apartment, where he would hang out and spend the night (until I retrieve him in the a.m., when the office opens at his complex, so he can get the key to his own home).
Whew! With that, I bid you buenas noches, and hit the hay. Tomorrow we'll continue our next installment of Adventures with the College Kid...after a (hopefully) peaceful night of sleep in my swanky rented palace. Hasta manana!
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