When Valerie went away to college, I thought we had plenty of ways to stay in touch with her; we could send text messages, chat on FaceBook, send emails, call on the phone or send the occasional care package and note through the mail. Although I had heard other parents [...]
As a parent, it’s rewarding to see your children become self sufficient and independent. But when you are watching them do it from a distance, it is also a little nerve-racking. Like this weekend for example…our daughter, Valerie, who has been in school for a little more than a month [...]
Last week, I got a postcard from Nordstrom Rack announcing that a new shipment of shoes would be arriving in the stores. I got a pang in my stomach when I read it…and not because I need another pair of black pumps. The reason an ad from Nordstrom Rack was [...]
This is Valerie’s third weekend away at college; it may be to soon to know for sure, but it sounds to us like the worst of her homesickness is behind her and she has turned the corner on adjusting to her new world without a room of her own, a [...]
Valerie is now in her second week away at college and still wondering, “When will college start being fun?” She has been meeting people, but she hasn’t bonded with anyone who she thinks will be a BFF. Again, we remind her that she has only been there two weeks. She [...]
Our daughter, Valerie, has a case of buyer’s remorse. Steve moved Valerie into her dorm room at Chapman University in Southern California six days ago and she is questioning her decision to go away to college. “Oh my gosh, what was I thinking? I’m living with total strangers, I miss [...]
When does 18 years seem like a very short amount of time? When it’s the day before your daughter leaves for college. That’s when the 18 years spent with your child just doesn’t seem like enough time. I know you never stop being parents no matter how old your children [...]
We were chatting with some friends before church last week, when they asked us how our summer was going. My answer was that this is a summer of transitions for us. In previous summers, one of the kids might be making the transition to junior high or high school, but [...]
On Saturday, our daughter Valerie, celebrated her 18th birthday. It makes no difference to Valerie that her July 17th birthday means that she is a “Cancer” in the zodiac signs. What is far more meaningful to her is that she was born under the “Nordstrom Anniversary Sale” sign. Her birthday [...]
It was a dark and stormy night when our 17-year-old daughter, Valerie, got the “Award Letter” from the college that was her number one choice. That’s the letter that outlines how much the school is going to award in scholarships and financial aid. In reality, it was actually a nice [...]